A total of 751 kg of banned plastic products were seized by the district-level enforcement squad during inspections in the heritage Chala market on Saturday.
The squad, comprising an official from the district Suchitwa Mission, Local Self-government Joint Director’s office, representatives from the city Corporation’s Health wing, and Fort sub-inspector and other police personnel, ensures that waste management rules are followed.
The district has two such squads to monitor illegal dumping of waste and sale of banned plastic products.
The squad visiting Chala had inspected two retail shops and had moved on to the third one when it faced hostility from people assembled outside. The shop had a lot of plastic products but whatever had been seized was forcibly returned by the small crowd that had assembled. They alleged that small shops were being deliberately targeted while the bigger outlets were ignored by the authorities.
They also directed the squad to a godown but when the squad reached there, it was found locked. There was no signage to indicate whose godown it was, except that of a government office that used to function there earlier. A check also failed to reveal in whose name the licence for the establishment was. In the absence of the owners, the squad could not enter the godown.
The squad, however, inspected an unoccupied vehicle from which plastic products were believed to have been unloaded till their arrival. The vehicle was covered with a sheet, but 751 kg of banned plastic products were seized from it. The police have taken down the vehicle details for further investigation.
More plastic products were stored inside the godown, the squad said.
The squad also informed the Corporation Secretary about how it was prevented from carrying out its duty.
