NALBARI, May 15 � The impact of the ban on the use of polythene bags in Nalbari district, imposed by the Nalbari Deputy Commissioner Dr Om Prakash, is noticeable these days with most people coming to the market with bags made of cloth or jute. The initiative taken by the Deputy Commissioner also seems to have changed the mindset of the school-going children about the use of plastic.
The Nalbari district administration imposed a ban on the use of polythene bags and plastic carrybags in the district under Section 144 CrPC in February considering the adverse effects of plastic on the environment and local ecology.
The district administration, prior to the imposition of the ban, had held a number of meetings to discuss the issue threadbare and taken out awareness rallies to make the people conscious about the health hazards of polythene.
The Deputy Commissioner has himself visited the town areas to have first-hand knowledge about the implementation of the ban and take action against those violating the same. The district administration officials have since seized a huge quantity of plastic bags from the wholesalers in the town.
Now, the shopkeepers here are selling goods in paper bags or bags made of cloth. Carrybags under the Biomedical Waste Rules 1998 and the containers used for packing food materials and milk, and for raising plants in nurseries, however, have been exempted from the purview of ban.
