Calcutta, Dec. 20: Santiniketan’s Pous Mela is set to turn green with the West Bengal Pollution Control Board banning the use of plastic bags on the fair ground or around it.

Stall-owners and visitors will not be allowed to use any polythene bag during Pous Mela beginning December 23, the pollution board announced.

“We have launched a campaign in Santiniketan involving schoolchildren and local NGOs much before the fair starts to make people aware of the harmful effect of using poly-bags. We have urged stall-owners and residents to avoid using polythene bags at least during the fair,” pollution board chairman Hirak Ghosh said.

“It is a test case on our part but we are sure of making Pous Mela the state’s first green fair. Gradually, we shall impose a ban on the use of plastic in all fairs,’’ he added.

One of the biggest and most popular fairs in the state, Pous Mela attracts a crowd of at least 25 to 30 lakh people, including a large number of NRIs, every year.

“The fair results in the circulation of 5 to 10 tonnes of plastic bags. The accumulated plastic bags create a major problem for the entire area,” the pollution board’s chairman said.

“As the surrounding areas are completely dependent on agriculture, the plastic bags create problems vis-à-vis both irrigation and fertility. After holding discussions with the local administration, the local panchayats and Visva-Bharati authorities, we have decided to make the fair free from plastic,’’ he said.

The WBPCB will also set up a stall at the fair, exhibiting various kinds of bags made of alternative materials like cardboard, paper, jute and cloth. Both sellers and buyers can use these bags, Ghosh said.

“We admit that bags are an essential commodity in any fair. Most visitors buy something and obviously they want bags…. Besides, many sellers even peddle food items in plastic bags. We are telling them and the visitors to avoid polythene bags and opt for bags made of other materials,” he said.

Apart from selling alternative bags, training will be provided to local youths on how to make these bags, he added. They will also be trained in marketing skills and the WBPCB will try to arrange for funds.

WBPCB officials declared triumphantly that the board has gone one up on the state Public Works Department and Calcutta police, which turned their attention to Maidan after being prodded by Calcutta High Court. The WBPCB, however, did not wait for any court directive.