In the Indian state, it is forbidden to produce and use plastic bags

The Maharastra state authorities in the western India banned the production, sale and use of plastic bags, saying that the packages caused blockage of the sewer system in the rainy season in July. Groups of environmental defenders supported this ban, but said that this ban alone was not enough. Manufacturers of plastic packages reported that 100 thousand people will lose their jobs because of this solution, writes The Guardian (translation on the websiteinopressa.ru ).

If manufacturers of polyethylene packages, as well as stores will put up these packages for sale, they will be fined about $ 160 while ordinary citizens may be fine for using packages of $ 30, said Governor of Vilashrao Deshmukh.

He said that the ban was caused by the fact that people inaccurately use plastic bags that clog sewer and drainage systems during rain seasons. And from floods and landslides, many people die in the state.

The ban on plastic bags should enter into force on September 24. Before this date, residents of the state can direct their objections and proposals, said the governor.

In some other Indian states, a ban on thin plastic bags that people use when purchases have already been introduced.

In July, several famous residents of the city of Bombay, including film producers, sued the state government for not reacting to a crisis in a timely manner, which was caused by a flood and paralyzed bombs last year, an Indian financial and entertaining capital.

The residents themselves blame the floods and landslides of ill -conceived planning during the construction of residential buildings, a poor sewage system and bad roads, the newspaper writes.

“This ban had to be introduced for a long time, and it is very necessary, but this is only the first step,” said Debi Goenka, environmental defender from the environmental organization Mumbai Environment Action Group.

Defenders of nature indicate that it is necessary to regularly clean the sewer systems and remove garbage. Arvind Mehta, which is included in the Indian Association of Plastic Manufacturers, suggests that in the state of Maharastra, due to the ban, 1,000 enterprises for the production of plastic bags will have to be closed, and as a result, about 100 thousand people will lose their jobs.

“The government needs to be transferred to someone, and we are made by scapegoats,” he says.