Much ahead of the ban on single-use plastic announced by the government, Tirupati almost eradicated the same nearly four years back.
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As part of the Swachh Bharat mission, it was on October 2, 2018 that ban on plastic products was first introduced by the then Collector P.S. Pradyumna. His observation that anything started from the temple city would augur well and be replicated across the country proved true today.
After a lot of awareness rallies and workshops, the ban was soft-launched and the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) cracked the whip on those selling plastic bags less than 40 micron thickness, tea cups and water glasses. The pilgrims visiting Tirupati used to watch with awe when even street vendors used to drape bananas in newspapers. However, the Panchayats abutting the temple city proved to be a bane in implementing the ban. With no curbs in the villages, people from the adjoining localities freely sold the same, diluting the spirit of the ban.
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Even after the Central government banned single-use plastic products recently, the plastic tea cups and water glasses are openly sold in Panchayats surrounding the city. Though the shops within the city limits fear imposition of a hefty fine, those in the villages neither have any qualms, nor the fear of punishment.
The latest decision by the State government to ban flex banners has shaken the billboard industry, which thrived over the last two decades at the cost of the traditional wall painters. Even as the decision has come as a bolt from the blue for the plastic flex banner making units, there is a palpable sigh of relief among the painters, who expect revival of the sector in doldrums.
Environmental observers feel that the ban can become a reality only if the civic authorities pull up their socks to implement it in a hassle-free manner without giving scope for pilferage from the nearby villages. Similarly, the Panchayat Raj Department also has a larger role in getting down to action by cracking the whip on violators.