Mayor B. Kartika Reddy has called upon self-help groups (SHGs) and especially women to take the lead in creating awareness about the use of jute, paper or cloth bags in place of plastic carry bags since the GHMC is committed to enforcing the ban on plastics from next month.
At a meeting held with NGOs and SHGs recently, Deputy Mayor Jaffer Hussain observed that the ban on plastic carry bags automatically raises the demand on cottage industries and that everyone should refuse any plastic carry bags offered by traders.
He said meeting have already been held by traders, colony welfare associations, hotels, and NGOs on ensuring that ban was effective. Items once seized under the ban on plastic carry bags would not be given back, he said.
Additional Commissioner (Health & Sanitation) S. Aleem Basha said an awareness campaign through posters, advertisements, slides, SMS, documentary films etc., was being taken up.
Notices issued
The assistant medical officers of health had started issuing notices to manufacturers of plastic carry bags to stop production.
The Mayor also assured the SHGs of providing a permanent marketing stall at all the Citizen Service Centres (CSCs) in the circle offices. Exhibitions will also be conducted in all the circle offices and ‘Mahila Bhavans' will be provided in all the wards with efforts to be made to arrange loans under ‘Swarna Jayanti Shehari Rozgar Yojana' through Urban Community Development (UCD) wing.
On the request made by SHGs for setting up Mahila Bhavans in all 150 divisions to take up training classes, she said all zonal commissioners are given permission to such facilities based on the respective corporators' inputs, a press release stated.
