What I find extremely constipating about this country is that we as Indian’s just cannot deal with certain rules and regulations; and especially not those which are meant for our own benefit. Take the ‘ban on use of plastic bags’ for instance. It is a known fact (although I have been aware of it from my school days!) that our environment is in a complete mess and thanks to the screw up of some developed nations (read USA), the whole world has to get together and rattle their (almost non-existent) brains in trying to sort out this mess.
As a step towards this initiative, members of our great (Democratically elected?) government and of course their hugely supportive members from our bureaucracy, early this month, announced the ban on the use of plastic bags in retail stores. As much as this topic was in discussion for the past few years and I do remember reading about it, the government finally managed to issue a law banning the use of plastic bags in Delhi this year. What I fail to understand is that what is the big deal with this law? Is it not passed by the government with the right intentions, although it might have been done in too much of a hurry not considering the repercussions of it? Is it not going to help in the conservation of our environment? Using a bit of commonsense, the answers to the above questions are quite clear to me, then why such a ruckus around this law?
Well, the way I see it, the problem lies with both the law maker as well as the public. Law maker’s because they have decided to implement a law without clearly planning for it. They plan on exterminating the use of plastic bags from across all retail outlets, lay a heavy penalty on the people flouting the law, but no provision of providing an alternative to these hazardous bags. The shoppers in the city go shopping, mostly do not carry their own bags to bring back the merchandise purchased, for various reasons, too cumbersome, or just plain not Cool, could be two that come to mind! The shops stop keeping plastic bags, so how do shoppers carry their purchase up to their cars or back home? Simple problem, no solution!
Alternatively, the public is to be blamed because we refuse to carry something as simple as jute or any other form of bag when we go shopping and then loose our heads at the shopkeepers for not being able to cater to something as simple as a carry bag. Well, if it was something as simple then I would love to ask the citizens of this city as to what is stopping them from carrying it with them when they leave their homes in the first place?
And just so that we are clear, I am as much a part of this junta as anyone else as even I have been stranded at various instances without a carry bag – I’m no saint!
The other day I was at Shopper’s Stop located in a plush South Delhi mall and there I saw the employees at the cash register packing the purchase of the shoppers in branded plastic bags. At an instance one of my acquaintances asked me, deliberately in front of the employee, “how come these guys are still giving plastic bags; do they not come under purview of the new law?” Well, before I could react to this question, one of the other shoppers turned around and said, “kya bhai saahab (read What Man!), these outlets belong to big and powerful people, you really think any law would be able to stop them from doing business, in our country?” At the same time I noticed the expression at the employee at the cash register and he had a sly smirk on his face. Could mean anything, but I’m not sure if benefit of doubt is something that would be appropriately applicable for him!
I noticed a similar case at another popular outlet in Delhi, 24*7, where immediately after this law was put in place, they started charging a measly Re. 1 on the bill to give you your purchase in a plastic bag. On my enquiry the employee said, “We are not giving it to all customers, we ask our customers if they need a bag and if they say yes, we charge them Re. 1 for it.” Wow, what a brilliant idea of making money and a mockery of the law, all at once! Which moron would actually refuse paying Re. 1 and getting a plastic bag in return to carry his / her groceries?
Why, I ask? The last I heard about the laws of the land, they were supposed to be the same for everyone. Then why is it that this law is applicable to the round-the-corner kirana stores and not to the large scale shopping centers? Would love to get an answer to this, if anyone has any!
Now we hear that our great leaders are planning on introducing a new kind of plastic bag, which will be woven using old, ragged plastic. Let’s see what this new initiative and urban planning of our government gets with it!
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