VIZIANAGARAM: Officials of Vizianagaram Municipal Corporation (VMC) will enforce a total ban on plastic in the town from June 5 to mark World Environment Day, along the lines of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC).
Medical officer of the corporation, Dr KVS Satyanarayana, said the countdown for the plastic ban will begin soon. People will be given a few days to find alternatives and traders must sell out the plastic stock in a few days. Use of single use and non-biodegradable plastic in the town will attract fines, he added.
Officials of the civic body claimed that due to Covid-19, they struggled to impose strict restrictions on the sale and use of plastic in the past two years. The authorities are now going the extra mile to restrict the use of plastic, whether it is single or reusable, as it blocks the passage of drains during the monsoon.
"We have appealed to the people and traders to stop using plastic and polythene and look for eco-friendly alternatives. The authorities are chalking out plans to rope in various organisations to produce eco-friendly bags to replace the plastic covers," officials said.
The officials claimed that though it will be immediately difficult to enforce a complete ban, "we are confident that it can be achieved within some months. We have also decided to carry out surprise raids to identify and close illegal water plants in the VMC as we have received complaints that some people are operating the plants for easy money and exploiting groundwater."
