Berhampur: Before the official ban of plastic in the state October 2 as declared by the Chief Minister, the Ganjam district administration has started taking steps to stop the use of polythene.
All the small traders, shopkeepers and consumers have been advised to dispose of their stocks of plastic bags by September 15. Raids will be conducted on shops and godowns from September 15. If any plastic bags are found then the godowns will be sealed, it was learnt.
Earlier, Berhampur sub-collector Sidharth Shankar Swain and Berhampur Municipal Corporation commissioner Chakravorty Singh Rathore convened a meeting with the plastic and polythene traders of Berhampur and sought their cooperation to make the Silk City plastic free.
The officials asked the traders not to make any fresh orders of plastic bags and dispose of their existing stocks.
Odisha produces an annual 27,859 tonnes of plastic per annum, an official source said. The use of plastic not only poses a grave danger to the environment, but also affects health of humans and animals.
The people were advised to use cotton and paper bags as alternatives. “We have decided to train the members of 10 SHGs to produce eco-friendly bags. We will also provide loans to them to start the production. Awareness rallies will be also be taken out to refrain the public from buying polythene and other plastics,” the sub-collector said.
The government has set a target to make the state plastic free over the next two years. The first phase of the ban will first be enforced in major cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Rourkela and Puri as declared by the CM.
While the housing and urban development department will enforce ban in the municipal corporation and urban local bodies, the panchayati raj department will enforce it in the rural areas of the state. The forest and environment department will oversee the plastic-control measures in the entire state.
The officials have been trying to curb plastic use from 2016 in Berhampur.
PNN