Thiruvananthapuram: The Corporation is roping in private parties to make alternatives to plastic bags ready, as its project is taking time. Mayor V.K. Prasanth said that Attukal Temple and UST Global have come forward to support the project, as part of their CSR initiative. “The main project has encountered certain procedural delays. It needs to follow several formalities,” he said. Criteria like the eligible self-help group should be over six months old reduces the number of groups under consideration.
Meanwhile, as the alternatives to plastic carry bags are yet to hit the market, small vendors in the city say that the ban on plastic carry bags is affecting sales. Customers, finding it difficult to carry fruits in a newspaper are buying lesser portions, according to Mubarak H, who sells fruits near Chalai. “Many commuters passing through East Fort bus-stop stop by. They usually used to buy fruits for Rs 300, but seeing that there is no cover, are settling for oranges at Rs 50,” he says.
Some have started selling Nylon bags. “If carry bags are available for Rs 10, then there would be no problem,” says Nizamudeen E. DC spotted many customers bringing their own bag in Chalai. The established shops here said that the ban had not affected their sales. It is the small grocery vendors who have been complaining. There is just one group of vendors who don’t complain as much – the banana leaf sellers. Ideally the ban should have increased the sale of banana leaves, since ‘thattu kada’ owners should have started buying more of it. But they say it has made no difference.
