Traders in Nashik demand substitute to plastic, warn govt of agitation if alternatives not made available

Nashik: Traders in the city have warned of an agitation demanding that the government should first come out with alternatives to plastic instead of just enforcing the ban of these items and collecting fine on them. [caption id=“attachment_4579381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Civic workers inspect shops following the plastic ban in Maharashtra. PTI[/caption] Various traders associations held a meeting in Nashik on Monday to discuss the state-wide ban on plastic, which came into force from Saturday. Chairman of Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA) Santosh Mandlecha said, “The traders are not at all against the government’s move of banning plastic items. But we want the government to provide alternatives to plastic.” He added that the traders had raised some issues related to plastic ban during a meeting held on 20 June, three days before the ban into effect. However, the government is yet to address these issues. Prafulla Sancheti, president of Nashik Grocery Traders Association said, “The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) staff should stop action against us. The government should first make available alternatives to plastic instead of just collecting fine. If this does not happen, we will launch an agitation,” Until and unless the state government acts on the issues raised by us, the civic body should stop taking action in this regard, he added.