There is nothing new in the launch of a campaign against use of cycled and recycled polythene in Jammu & Kashmir by the municipal bodies of twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu and civic bodies of major town across Jammu & Kashmir along with civic bodies of several states and Union territories and Urban Local Bodies across the country as the civic bodies of Jammu & Kashmir have a poor track record of launching anti-polythene campaigns and ending them without curbing the growing menace of polythene use within a short span of few months. People expects that the anti-polythene campaign launched by J&K civic bodies in cities and town may continue for some months as usual only to end it up without reducing the intensity of it’s use by the business and trade outlets across Jammu & Kashmir. The campaign itself is reduced to media advertisements and few hoardings here and there as usual and such a low key campaign is an insult to the global campaign against single use plastics in cities and towns. Had the campaign against polythene started with curbs on manufacture and supply of polythene to distributors and retailer the intensity of the polythene use would drastically reduce in a short span of few weeks but the campaign is reduced to harassment of only retail trade outlets. Clean and green city slogan has no takers as people know that slogan is reduced to a slogan only but not to a process of replacing poythene with paper bags for delivery of goods at the retail trade out lets across Jammu & Kashmir. Had a plan been devised to replace polythene bags with paper bag that campaign against single use places would contribute to a polythene free environment in cities and towns of Jammu & Kashmir and timing for such a environment friendly campaign can’t be better than the commencement of good tourist season in Jammu & Kashmir this year after three years of pandemic.
Unless and until the manufacture and supply of polythene to wholesalers and retails is not stopped no sustained campaign can reduce the intensity of the mass use of cycled and recycled polythene bags at the retails trade outlets in Jammu & Kashmir.
Ironically the videos showing parks and gardens filled with heaps of garbage at the famed tourist spots like Daksum went viral on social media sites last week. Forget about the failures of garbage lifting in cities and towns in both Kashmir valley and Jammu division the garbage dumps have become a nuisance at tourist hot spots in Kashmir valley which attract tourist in thousands from within and outside the country during peak summer months. Unless and until the manufacture and supply of polythene to wholesalers and retails is not stopped no sustained campaign can reduce the intensity of the mass use of cycled and recycled polythene bags at the retails trade outlets in Jammu & Kashmir.
