The rest of the city may be grappling with the plastic ban, but not Bangur Avenue. This neighbourhood had bid goodbye to the pollutant in 2015, when the-then councillor Mriganka Bhattacharya had issued a total ban on all kinds of plastic bags.
Since then, no shopkeeper or street vendor in Bangur is allowed to sell anything if he packs them in a plastic bag. This has led to a definite improvement in the drainage system of the area. Since no plastic was clogging the drains, water accumulation during monsoon has been reduced to almost nil.
Most shopkeepers, fruit and vegetable sellers in Bangur are happy with the recent state-wise ban. “This ban should have come long ago, especially in areas with a history of water-logging. No one here has been allowed to give plastic bags for the past seven to eight years and it has worked,” said Bipul Pal, a fruit seller.
“Most of our customers bring bags from home. Those who don't are given paper bags but they are obviously too small to hold large quantities. Once the customer faces the problem, he carries a shopping bag from home the next time he comes to the market. Eventually this becomes a habit. The only alternative is to buy a cloth bag which costs anything between Rs 5-10. Many people don’t want to spend money over a mere shopping bag,” said Pal.
Gunjan Tibrewalla, a resident of Bangur Avenue, said: “I always carry a bag from home as no one gives plastic bags here. Whenever I go out, I keep an extra cloth bag in my handbag. It is just a matter of habit.”
Larger nexus
However, even this system isn't foolproof. A few hawkers do give out plastic in a hush-hush manner. “Most people carry bags from home. Only rarely does someone request for a free plastic bag as they don’t want to pay for the cloth bag. We then sneak in a plastic bag to him and request him to carry his own bag from next time. After all, we cannot say no to customers,” confessed Biju Sharma, a vegetable vendor.
Other hawkers lay the blame on wholesalers who continue to use plastic. “I buy my stocks from Sealdah and carry them in a van to Bangur. All that we buy from wholesalers in Sealdah are given to us in plastic bags. They are still using plastic bags to hand over goods to retailers like us,” said Rajesh Mondal, a stall owner.
While such plastic isn’t usually handed to customers, they can still be seen dumped in corners. No one seems to mind, though, as they know that sweepers will clear the place the next morning. “When you walk into the market early in the morning you will see hawkers setting up shops and displaying their farm produce. But all this comes in large plastic bags. This practice needs to stop because even if residents don’t use plastic there are outsiders who still do,” said Jignesh Agarwal, a resident of Bangur Avenue.
Perhaps the country-wide ban will do the trick now.
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