Cuttack municipal commissioner RN Nanda and mayor Saumendra Ghose address a press conference. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, June 3: Think twice before you plan to leave home with a polythene carry bag in hand. After failing to put a check on the use of polythene, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has now geared up for a ‘total ban’ on its the use. Polythene is believed to be the root cause of various civic problems, including environment pollution, in the city.

Two special squads have been formed to put a check on the use of polythene by launching a massive drive on the occasion of World Environment Day on Sunday.

“We are going to intensify the ongoing movement and enforce the decision to completely ban the use of polythene in the city from June 5 keeping in view the issue of environment pollution,” said CMC commissioner R.N. Nanda.

Each squad comprising 15-20 officials will conduct ‘surprise’ raids on various business establishments, hotels and other institutions and roadside eateries to completely restrict the use of polythene from June 5-18.

The squad will also ensure that no polythene bags and other products are used in various CMC-run Kalyan mandaps. The owners have been asked to sign agreements with the parties for not using polythenes before they avail the facilities of kalyan mandaps.

“Though there is no provision for punishment, we have submitted a proposal to the state government to include a penalty provision on the use of polythene in the municipal by-law,” Nanda said.

Besides enforcement, an awareness drive will be carried out so that the people do not use polythene. The squads will be increased to ensure that the city is completely free from polythene.

NGOs and schoolchildren would also be involved in the ‘say-no-to-polythene’ campaign in the city, Nanda added.

Though a series of awareness campaigns have also been initiated in the past against the use of polythene by CMC, it has failed to yield the desired results.Moreover, polythene bags and other items block drains and it ultimately lead to waterlogging during monsoon. Similarly, polythene also affects the functioning of the machines used to desilt major drains in the city.

Officials of the CMC said time had come to ban the use of polythene as had been done at various hill stations in the country. The civic body had launched an awareness campaign and the use of polythene was also restricted to some extent during Bali Yatra by providing alternatives such as, paper bags, kulhads and other items instead of polythene bags.“Paper bags and other alternatives to polythene will be made available by CMC so that people can opt for these environment friendly products instead of harmful coloured polythene,” said mayor Saumendra Ghose.

At present, around 350mt tonnes of solid waste is generated from the city daily. Though no official data is available, it is believed that nearly 25 per cent of the total waste is polythene.

Officials believe that the exact amount of polythene use can be ascertained in a couple of months as mechanised sweeping and solid waste collection have been introduced in the city recently.

All polythene seized and segregated from the wastes will be then sent to ACC cement factory in Bargarh for treatment and subsequent disposal in a high power furnace there and the raw material will be used to produce cement.“Efforts should be initiated, not only by the CMC, to make available paper and other products that can be used as an alternative to polythene at an affordable price,” said Keshab Pradhan(45), a local resident.