True Pragati in Kukatpally, Hyderabad: no plastic bags and more...
Cor van de Water
At a time when India is just waking up to the threat of pollution,
residents of a colony in Kukatpally called Pragati Nagar had foreseen
the problem five years back and since then has been working towards
reducing their carbon footprint.
None of the shops in Pragati Nagar Gram Panchayat provide plastic bags
to their customers and locals never ask for them.
“It feels good at the end of the day. I am doing my bit to save the
environment. I take shopping bags to carry things. If I forget to get
them, shop keepers provide me with paper bags,” retired professor D.
Karan says.
Shopkeepers do admit that paper bags cost more than plastic bags, but
they are used to doing this. “A meeting was organised by the gram
panchayat and all shop owners were asked to attend. We were told about
the consequences of using plastic bags and its effect on the
environment. All of us signed a document stating that we would not use
plastic bags in our shops,” says owner of a local general store,
Hemanth Chowdhary.
If any shop owner or resident tends to forget his or her
responsibilities, there are officials assigned by the panchayat to
remind them and punish those who flout the rules.
“Officials keep doing rounds of the locality, if caught, an amount of
Rs 1000 is charged from us. Now, even residents have got used to it.
They do not demand for plastic bags as they used to earlier,” says
another shop owner, Paras Chowdhary.
Apart from plastic bags, the panchayat has also banned selling soft
drinks, cigarettes and paan.
“We do not have a single wine shop in this locality. People are also
barred from smoking. When caught smoking, they are heavily fined,”
gram panchayat vice president Sudheer Reddy says.
“Also, no hawkers are allowed in the locality for selling things to
the residents without informing the panchayat heads,” Chowdhary adds.
The panchayat’s victory lies in the fact that none of the residents or
shop owners protest the rules and abide by them instead. “We intend to
inspire other localities to follow our example. The task at our hand
was not tough. Our first step was to create awareness among the
residents and shop owners. They agreed to change their lifestyle,”
adds Reddy.