JOIN USPalike cracks the whip, seizes eight tonnes of banned plastic
The officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board on Friday launched a crackdown on the shops and commercial establishments selling banned plastic. The joint teams seized as much as 8 tonnes of banned plastic during the raids.
The officials, who began their raids around 9.30 am, were in action till 5 pm. They swooped down on shops on Avenue Road, KR Market and several pockets in Shivajinagar.
The biggest haul was at KV Canteen on Veerannapillai Street, Shivajinagar. More than 25 tonnes of plastic item was found stocked in a godown, which had five rooms. Plastic cups, plates, glasses, zipper bags and other items were found at the godown.
“The godown belongs to Karnataka Plastics shop located next to the KV Canteen. They were selling the items at wholesale prices. Out of 25 tonnes, about seven tonnes were banned plastics and were of less than 40 microns, worth about Rs 20 lakh. We have seized the banned plastics as of now and are examining the other materials,” said BBMP health officer, East Zone, Siddappaji.
A few shops on Jewellers’ Street and Dharmaraja Koil Street were also raided. Palike officials said that a penalty of Rs 10,000 was slapped on traders selling banned plastic.
Around 1.4 tonnes of plastic was seized during the raid on shops on Avenue Road and at KR Market. A fine of Rs 62,000 was collected from the erring traders.
Bulk purchase
Palike officials said that most of the traders and plastic retailers buy plastic in bulk from Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, besides at Peenya Industrial Area and Kumbalagodu in Bengaluru.
“Most of the plastics they buy are of low-grade quality. They are usually sold to small-time vendors who cannot afford cloth bags and other alternatives. Most of the plastic manufacturing units are run on outskirts of the city.