Demonstration against use of polythene bags

CHANDIGARH, Dec 15: "Plastic free world, a road to success and happiness", read the placards being carried by the students of the local C.L.Aggarwal DAV school to protest against the use of poly-bags. The protest march was organised by the Traders Association Sector 17 in collaboration with the The Indian Council for Environmental Education, a non-governmental organisation in Sector-8. The students of Class-VII and VIII of the school circled the plaza carrying plycards . Jagdish Pal Kalra, the General-Secretary of the Traders Association of Sector 17 shopping complex, laid out the three basic essentials to create an environment free of poly bags." Using force to ban the poly-bags would not solve the problem. First of all we need to spread awareness among the public about the hazards of the polythene. Then a suitable substitute be made available in the market and last of all the ban should be imposed," he said.

The demonstration by the school children constituted the first step in spreading awareness as cited by Kalra but it also dissapointed many. J.S. Ahluwalia, a government employee said,"If the Traders Association of Sector 17 is so keen on creating an awareness among the masses then the first step should have come from the shopkeepers. Instead of the school children, it is the shopkeepers who should be demonstrating and vowing not to sell out items in poly-bags." He emphasised the fact that the shopkeepers have a large stock of poly-bags which would take time to finish, thus preventing them from advocating the need to prevent their use in the interest of a healthy enviornment. Deepak Julka, branch manager of Airads Limited brushed aside Kataria’s plea and said," the shopkeepers should come forward and pledge never to use the poly-bags again. The demonstration by the students will not have a lasting effect."