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| Polythene traders hold demo, demand lifting of ban |
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Friday, November 07, 2008
By our correspondent
Karachi
The All Karachi Plastic Bags Manufacturers and Dealers Association has demanded of the authorities to lift the ban on manufacturing and sale of polythene bags, saying that the ban was resulting in joblessness and closure of businesses in the province.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Thursday, the association leaders Umer Draz and Khawaja Ansar said that the imposition of ban on polythene bags has pushed their industry on the verge of collapse.
They said that they were already producing 30 microns polythene bags after the initial directives of the authorities and it was causing them huge losses as polythene bags of less than 30 microns were being supplied to Karachi from interior Sindh and Punjab.
“At a time when we were striving to promote 30 micron shopping bags in Karachi, the government imposed the ban on October 20 and directed for producing 300 micron plastic bags, which was impossible and led to the closure of the entire industry in Karachi,” they claimed.
The association office-bearers presented several suggestions, saying that the ban may only be restricted to the manufacturing of plastic shopping bags since the present ban was affecting production of all kinds of plastic bags which were being used by textile, sugar, detergent, laundry, bread and confectionary industries.
They said that owing to the halt of polythene bags’ production, they were unable to send their products to a big market in Balochistan, which was adversely affecting their business and jeopardising the future of 30,000 people associated with the industry.
The association representatives were of the opinion that they were in favour of a ban on black plastic bags but they should be allowed to produce garbage collection bags which were being prepared from street waste and helped keep the city clean.
They further asked the authorities to stop raiding the shops and factories producing plastic bags since such an action has opened a door of corruption as the police personnel were minting money from them under the pretext of raids.
They suggested that the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) may impose a new tax of Rs10 per month for plastic bags collection that would generate over Rs20 million and the money used for collecting plastic bags would also open an employment avenue.
They appealed to city and provincial governments to pay heed to their demands and suggestions and assured that they would not let anybody use, sell and produce plastic bags of less than 30 microns in the city.
Earlier, the manufacturers and dealers of plastic bags held a protest demonstration outside the KPC against the ban on the production of polythene bags and police raids on their businesses.
Chanting slogans against the officials of the CDGK’s Revenue Department and police, they demanded lifting of the ban on the manufacturing and sale of plastic bags.
They further called for immediate release of all those arrested by the police for violating the ban and demanded that raids should be halted immediately.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
