Retail shops to go on strike from Monday to protest plastic ban

Pune: Over 15,000 retail shops, including sweet outlets, bakeries, as well as garment, electrical and grocery stores, in Pune district will go on an indefinite strike from Monday in protest against the plastic ban.
Somaram Rathod, vice president, Pune District Retailers’ Association, told TOI that the strike was earlier planned for Sunday but the association did not want to inconvenience customers as it was a holiday.“We have decided to remain shut from Monday. The plastic ban is proving troublesome for both — vendors and public — because of lack of alternatives. Plastic above 50 microns, that can be recycled, should not be banned. We are not against the ban. Plastic bags should be banned, but other forms of plastic that can be recycled should not be banned,” he said.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) seized close to 8,700kg of plastic on Saturday and collected a fine of Rs 3.70 lakh from various establishments. A prominent store in Model Colony had to shell out Rs 5,000 as thermocol and about 60 plastic plates were found in it. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation collected a total fine of Rs 80,000 from 16 shops and seized 115.1kg of plastic.
Confusion reigned on the debut day of the plastic ban as some PMC officials allegedly imposed fines on establishments for having plastic used for packing at the manufacturing stage, which is not banned under the latest law. Over 1,000 shops in Bibvewadi, Sinhagad Road and Shukrawar Peth downed their shutters in protest against it.
Many restaurants and food joints on Saturday slammed the brakes on parcel orders, especially on gravy items. With no alternative in sight, some delivered only dry items.
Retailers to go on strike from Monday
A few discontinued parcel orders temporarily. A representative associated with online restaurant guide and food ordering app Zomato said the delivery business had seen a significant drop.
Many retailers alleged that they had to face intense distress from the inspecting authorities. “A garment store on Sinhagad Road was penalized as it had cloth wrapped in plastic. The material had come wrapped in plastic from the manufacturer’s end, which has been allowed under the latest law. In protest, all shops on Sinhagad Road downed shutters on Saturday,” Rathod said.
He said close to a lakh women self-help groups, which sell home-made food products to shops wrapped in plastic, stand to suffer because of the ban. “A shopkeeper on Sinhagad Road had such food products. He, too, was fined. If this goes on, shops would stop taking such products,” said Rathod.
“Big companies are selling their products like biscuits and chips wrapped in plastic, but their products are not under the ambit of the ban. Then, why target local food products sold by small retailers?” he asked.
Close to 2,000 retailers held a meeting in Kothrud on Saturday to discuss their future course of action following the plastic ban. A source in the association said the strike would only be withdrawn when their demands were met with.
Officials from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) said that in the next 15 days, they will avoid action against retailers and focus on manufacturers.