Tirupati: The restriction imposed by the government on plastic flex banners is affecting the manufacturers, who say they will suffer significant losses vis-à-vis business as also the machinery and stocks.
They had sought extra time to empty their inventories and migrate to alternative modes. But, officials made it clear they must abide by the ban and stop producing plastic flex banners from November 1.
Collector Venkataramana Reddy along with Tirupati municipal commissioner Anupama Anjali met representatives of flex printers and employees at the collectorate on Wednesday. The collector affirmed that the district administration will not permit any plastic flex banners in the district from Nov. 1.
He noted there are 55 flex banner printers in the district and they have to obey the GO. “As per the government directive, cloth banners must be used in place of vinyl banners. To help the printers shift to the alternative modes, the government would offer them assistance, like helping them to avail loan and provide training to the workers in alternative modes of banner making,” the collector said.
Flex printers have complained that altering the machinery will cost them Rs 10-15 lakh. They said their existing stocks cannot be returned to the suppliers. Hence, they requested extra time and said they needed government loans and subsidies to cover the additional costs.
