We Can’t Do Without Plastic
DOES the ban on plastic carry bags imposed in the state have any meaning? It is a total hogwash like the Swachh Bharat Mission. If the government was really interested in eliminating plastic bags then it would have put its house in order first. Is milk from cooperative societies supplied in bottles as before, or in plastic sachets? Where does this plastic go? Are not the groceries, cosmetics and commodities sold at sahakari bhandars packed in plastic? Are not most of other goods and products packed in plastic? If one just looks around one’s house one will find that most of the products and packed in plastic.
FERDINANDO DOS REIS FALCÃO, MARGAO
Use A Cloth Bag Instead
THE ‘plastic-free Goa’ mission is well and truly on. It must be said that in the past several steps were taken by civic bodies to bring a ban on the use of plastic bags in their respective cities. However, the efforts met with very little success as is evident from the fact that people still carry the goods they buy in plastic bags. The Margao municipality had suggested that shopkeepers will be given the right to use plastic carry bags provided they pay a heavy sum as registration fees. This does not seem appropriate since plastic carry bags would then still exist in the marketplace, and this will necessitate a check on shopkeepers. There needs to be a comprehensive ban on the use of plastic bags. For this to materialise there needs to be alternative to plastic bags. In the yesteryears citizens used to carry a cloth bag to put the shopping. This ‘custom’ has not withstood the challenge of time because the shopkeepers now put the shopping in a plastic carry bag. One way to get to the old habit of carrying cloth bags would be for shopkeepers to sell cloth bags at a nominal price depending on the size of the bags, instead of putting the goods in a plastic bag. The next time around the citizens will, in all probability, carry their own cloth bags to the market, in order to avoid shelling out extra money to buy a cloth bag. NGOs and members of the self-help groups could be encouraged to make cloth bags from old clothes which are to be sold to the shopkeepers.
ADELMO FERNANDES, VASCO
Graft And The Corrupt Thrive
CORRUPTION is deeply entrenched in the country. The abuse of power and the embezzlement of funds are rampant. If anybody speaks up against corruption then his/her voice is silenced by the influential people who do not brook any criticism and opposition. The people wielding power climb the ‘ladder of success’ through unfair and corrupt steps. Honest people are deprived of benefits like promotion, pay raise and other privileges. Hence honest and hardworking people get discouraged, making the corrupt thrive.
RUSTAM PARWEZ, HYDERABAD