The Thrissur Corporation began implementing the ban on plastic carry bags in the city from Friday.
Though the UDF council had announced the ban four years ago, they couldn't carry it forward. The carry bags came back when the Health Department stopped the frequent raids.
“This time the ban will be implemented strictly. The traders have been asked to avoid plastic carry bags,” said Mayor Ajitha Vijayan.
The Corporation councillors and the workers of the Health Department took an anti-plastic pledge in front of the Corporation office on Friday. Awareness programmes were conducted at Sakthan bus stand and markets.
Distributed
Students of Co-operative Public School, Padukkad, distributed 1,000 cloth bags to the public, free of cost, with a message to avoid plastic carry bags.
The cloth bags were prepared by the students themselves. Mayor Ajitha Vijayan inaugurated the distribution.
Principal of the school M.R. Mridula, vice-president T.S. Sjeevan, vice-principal N. Ragesh led the campaign.
The Health Department of the Corporation has been conducting awareness programmes among the traders in the city for the last two months.
Direction has been given to charge fine from traders, who use plastic bags. The traders in the city, including those in Sakthan Market, have already started avoiding plastic bags. Many supermarkets have shifted to cloth bags.
Many of the textile shops too have started using cloth bags. The decision for banning the plastic carry bags came in the wake of clogging of drainage canals and water bodies with plastic.
Initiative
Prime Minster Narendra Modi had called for initiative from local bodies in reducing plastic waste.
