New Market becomes no plastic zone

The New Market Area has been made a no plastic zone recently by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation as a fire safety measure.  The decision was earlier taken after the Gariahat fire incident that took place on January 20, 2019. The civic officials were able to make the hub of hawking area – New Market, a plastic free zone due to a continuous campaign carried out jointly by Kolkata Municipal Corporation and New Market police station. This drive has forced the hawkers to do away with the habit of using plastics frequently. This joint campaign was carried out in areas like Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Bertram Street, Lindsay Street, Humayun Place, Corporation Street and Finwick Bazar Street. According to Kolkata Police, almost 50 hawkers from the New Market Area were taken into custody for not abiding by the rules which later forced them to adapt to a plastic free market environment.  Hawkers of the area, however, gave mixed reaction to the new sets of rules. Ashok Gupta, President of the S S Hogg Market Traders’ Association praised the initiative of a free plastic zone and said, “It is very good that the police and civic officials have become active in removing plastics from New Market. In fact, I have written to the CM’s office, city police commissioner, mayor, municipal commissioner about the plastic menace. But my fear is that plastic sheets will return in absence of a sustained drive”.