Single-use plastic back in Secunderabad Cantonment

SECUNDERABAD: Efforts to make Secunderabad Cantonment free of single-use plastic have failed as shopkeepers have completely ignored the ban orders issued by the ministry of defence (MoD).
After the Covid-19-induced lockdown was lifted, shopkeepers and commercial establishments have gone back to using the banned plastic.

It has been observed that most of the commercial units, such as grocery malls, hotels and restaurants, vegetable shops and others, in Karkhana, Vikrampuri, Trimulgherry, Lalbazar, Bolarum, Picket, Bowenpally and Rasoolpura are using the banned single-use plastic.
Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) officials, however, said that the use of single-use plastic in the area had reduced to a great extent, but as officials were busy in tackling Covid-19 cases, they could not raid commercial units which are still using single-use plastic. “Soon, we will again start raids on commercial units and seal them. Penalties will also be imposed on violators,” said SCB senior superintendent (SWM) M Devender, who had undertaken a massive campaign on banning the use of plastic. He also accepted TOI’s observation that single-use plastic was back in business.
The official said that several measures were implemented to curb the use of single-use plastic in Cantonment. “In fact, we were able to curtail over 70% use of banned plastic material by imposing heavy penalties on shopkeepers and commercial godowns,” he claimed. “We are keen on not using single-use plastic, which is banned by the Central government, but shopkeepers are using it to package essential commodities. The time has come for the Cantonment board officials to punish them,” K Balraju, a resident of Vikrampuri Colony, said.“Scared of SCB’s raids and penalties, we had stopped using single-use plastic,” S Ramesh, a shopkeeper in Karkhana, claimed.