Nagpur: Angered by the suicide of plastic trader Naresh Tolani, those in the business fear that more tragedy is waiting to happen. Demanding the immediate withdrawal of the ban the “repercussions of which were not thought of”, the plastic industry stated the it should be put into action only with due safeguards. A section feels that the government should be booked for abetment of suicide.
51-year-old Tolani, a resident of Kashmiri Lane, committed suicide by jumping into Gandhisagar Lake. His five-line suicide note stated that he was fed up with the ban. Tolani was into plastic trading since last 30 years and his business went kaput right after the ban was imposed in March.
Tolani’s suicide created unrest in the already crippling plastic industry which has put the onus of it on the state government. With probably lakhs of livelihoods at stake, manufacturers and traders say more such unfortunate incidents might happen if the government doesn’t act at this stage.
“I am selling off my unit and scrapping my machines. This week, I had to throw out 35 labourers working under me because I don’t have the money to pay their salaries. They were ready to do any work, but I am incapable of employing them. At such times, anybody who never thought of committing suicide would be forced to take such extreme steps,” says Manish Jain, a manufacturer of non-woven bags which have been banned by the state.
Like him, there are many manufacturers reeling under loans to the tune of lakhs and crores, mortgaged properties and a bleak future. “Like Tolani’s, there are numerous families in the state whose only source of livelihood was plastic. If they have come at a stage where they are being forced to end their lives, only the government is responsible for it and should immediately compensate. The GR of plastic ban should be immediately withdrawn until effective alternatives are found,” says Sanjay Agrawal, the secretary of Nag Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce.
The state can’t kill a booming industry in a matter of few months. Says Jain, “We should be given at least three years to repay the hefty loans. The government has no right to make us bankrupt.”
A plastic retailer, not wanting to be named, said that a blanket ban on his bread and butter forced Tolani to end his life. “We are not against the government’s intention. But it should have brought some regulations rather than imposing a blanket ban. The entire industry is ready for regulations,” he says.
Members of a plastic association pointed out that the government should be booked for abetment to suicide in Tolani’s case. “On one hand, it indulges in tall talks of generating employment and on the other, it is snatching away lakhs of livelihoods. Is the state thinking about how Tolani’s children will afford their education or how his wife will run the household,” they ask.
