KOLKATA: New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) collected fines worth Rs 3,000 for using single-use plastic below 75 micron.
An NKDA team led by its chairman Debashis Sen visited the markets in BA and BD blocks and a hawker market and pulled up shopkeepers who were found using single-use plastic bags below 75 micron. Cloth bags were distributed among some shop keepers as a token gesture.
The fine was collected online and the errant shop keepers will receive the receipt on their cell phones.
The NKDA authorities are charging Rs 500 from errant shopkeepers and Rs 50 from the errant buyers. The NKDA team visited the markets at 7.30 am. Drives will continue in other markets from Friday. NKDA has 10 markets and two hawker markets.
The staff of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) visited some shops in Baguiati market and pulled up the errant shop keepers. The drives will continue in Salt Lake and Rajarhat markets also, said Rahima Bibi Mondol, member, mayor-in-council (Environment) Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. BMC had conducted awareness for two months requesting both the sellers and buyers not to use plastic bags that are below 75 micron.
In Sarat Basu Road market and Jadubabur Bazar, the fruit sellers are either using plastic bags above 75 micron or wrapping the fruits with paper. The shops selling chicken are requesting the customers to bring plastic containers. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials visited the markets on Thursday.