RSS Feed (xml)
Bangladesh have been frustrated by a lack of manpower and dearth of
dedicated mobile courts, say authorities, but the government is now
set to take tougher measures against the continued production and
spread of the environmental menace. 'Delays in implementing the
mobile court drive against the banned polythene bags is one of the
main reasons behind their continued use,' Muhammad Shahjahan Mia,
technical director of the department of environment, told bdnews24.
com on Tuesday. In 2002, the government banned both production and
use of 'thin' polythene bags of the type that are still widely found
in shops and markets throughout Bangladesh. Mia said a recent
government decision to kick- start mobile court drives, which have
been stalled since the caretaker administration's separation of the
judiciary in Nov 2007, would add much needed impetus to environmental
protection initiatives. The DoE official's comments follow a
recent call by the parliamentary standing committee on environment
for tougher measures against the production and use of the illegal
polybags. The committee, in a meeting held on Aug 6, said despite
the ban on their manufacture and use, they continued to create
environmental havoc in the capital and elsewhere by clogging water
bodies and drainage systems. It found the polythene bags were
partly responsible for exacerbating water-logging problems in Dhaka.
However, retailers in the capital's kitchen markets say the cost
of the plastic bags remains considerably lower than that for net or
paper bags, the two alternates promoted by the authorities.
According to the committee's findings, polythene bags returned to the
market in force towards the end of 2006. State minister for
environment Hasan Mahmud, in the parliamentary committee meeting,
said his ministry would strictly adhere to environmental legislation
that banned the non-biodegradable bags. Alamgir Kabir, of
environmental pressure group Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, told
bdnews24.com that massive quantities of illegal polythene bags
continue to be manufactured in small factories in Lalbagh,
Hazaribagh, Kamrangirchar and Chakbazar. Kabir said some of the
'factories' have even secured fake DoE certificates to conduct their
highly profitable business free from official hassles. Official
confusion also persists over the exact types of plastic bag banned
under the 2002 legislation.
