Mumbai: Traders resist plastic ban plan

The protest, attended by over 1,000 people, saw traders, factory workers and manufacturers from all over Maharashtra including Nashik, Nagpur and Aurangabad, protesting the ban.

Mumbai | Updated: February 24, 2018 7:33 am

Protesters at Azad Maidan on Friday. (Nirmal Harindran)

Written by Ankush Bandyopadhyay

In a bid to protest the proposed ban by the state government on plastic products, beginning March 18, the Maharashtra Plastic Manufacturers Association (MPMA), along with other associations of plastic manufacturers and traders on Friday held a demonstration at Azad Maidan.

The protest, attended by over 1,000 people, saw traders, factory workers and manufacturers from all over Maharashtra including Nashik, Nagpur and Aurangabad, protesting the ban. The protestors carried placards that read, ‘Plastic is not bad – littering is bad, stop littering’ and ‘Remember the 4 Rs of plastics: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover’.

According to Ravi Jashnani, president of the MPMA, “For the past several months, we have been trying to bring the drawbacks of such a blanket ban on plastic usage and production to the notice of the government and also to enhance awareness amongst the public.”

Kaushik Sanghvi, the secretary of the Plastic Manufacturers Social Welfare Association, said their demands were reasonable and in the interest of all concerned. “It is not that we protest for the sake of protesting. We want to work together with authorities in ensuring that plastic does not cause any damage to the environment,” Sanghvi said.
Jashnani said the ban would adversely affect employment and revenue generation. Members of the associations also said they were keen to work with the Maharashtra Government to find viable alternatives.

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Meenal Mamdani
Feb 24, 2018 at 8:04 am
I am not in favor of plastic but this decision to ban plastic is another knee jerk action by govt. The protesters' demands are correct. Why not have strict laws that are enforced against littering? Why not provide financial incentives for recycling plastics? The plastic manufacturers also share the blame. This menace of plastic bags, cups, etc causing harm to animals, fish, etc have been well publicized for many years. Why did they not put their own brains and money towards finding a solution? In India every one always expects the govt to provide a solution and implement it. People believe that they have no civic responsibility, they are mere spectators. A dictator like Lee Kuan Yew could clean up Singapore within a few years by enforcing no littering. Sometimes I wish India had mini dictators like that to enforce good laws.
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  Fenix Spider
  Feb 24, 2018 at 8:19 am
  That's right actually you can't stop contamination and pollution unless and until your minds are free from those. And it is also right that if they ban plastics it would create a havoc causing thousands to be unemployed, resting there heads under pillows weeping under them as they can't sustain their families and this in turn might lead to all the negative things like robbery and moreover there also stands a chance that it might increase pressure on other type of companies or other sectors too to absorb them!
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