When people went to K. R. Market on Tuesday, they returned with things more than vegetables, fruits or flowers. They came out with a change from their routine of having plastic bags to carrying cloth bags. As part of the Cheela Mela organised by Sahas (a city-based NGO), in association with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the visitors to K.R. Market were distributed cloth bags for free which were made by self-help groups (SHG).
Enforcement of ban on single-use plastic (SUP) started from July 1. However, there is little awareness of the ban. K.R. Market being one of the biggest markets in Bengaluru, it alone uses large quantities of plastic bags.
The mela sought to encourage market patrons to use cloth bags. The SHG had invited people to bring their old garments which they repurposed into cloth bags on the spot and asked them to henceforth these bags for shopping. "At the market, we provided around 2,500 cloth bags reaching out to almost 3,000 people in a day," said Veerendra S.V., Project Manager at Sahas.
The team also notified the market sellers about SUP ban and asked them to cease providing plastic bags to their consumers. "Even after the ban of SUPs, we saw several sellers using plastic bags and when asked about it, they said that if plastic bags aren't provided then they lose their customers and due to this they are reluctant to change into cloth or paper bags," said Mansi A.T., Project Coordinator at Sahas, who was present during the mela.
The vendors at the market were not inclined to make a change. "If I switch to cloth bags, I will have to pay an extra amount which would be more than my profit since one bag costs a lot. Also, if I don't provide a bag to my customers, I will lose them," said a flower vendor at the market.
"Losing a customer is a nightmare and to satisfy their needs, we provide plastic bags. After the implementation of this ban, it has become quite difficult for us and the customers to accept this change. This is affecting our profit margin," said a vegetable vendor.
