A plastic ban in Bhopal has met with partial success inspite of the careless and unenthusiastic approach of the administration, thanks to a few green crusaders who are committed to fighting the plastic menace in their city.

Their efforts are showing results at the ground level. These self-motivated Bhopalis are leaving no stone unturned to rid their city of hazardous plastic carrybags. Had the local administration taken dedicated, responsible and stern steps, the much touted ban would have met with much more success.

Stating that there is a lot of confusion regarding the use of polythene, Satish Gangrade, president of new market traders' association said that there are no clear cut directives from the state government to implement the ban due to which there is a dilemma whether to use them or not.

To make the ban on plastic successful, proper monitoring by the authorities and strict punishment for the offenders is a must.

Pollution Control Board Regional officer PS Bundela said that they had conducted numerous campaigns to make traders aware of the hazards polythene bags and few polythene production factories have also been locked up. Their campaigns have produced results as malls and franchise stores have switched over to cloth and paper bag. It is heartening to know that some vendors have voluntarily boycotted plastic polythene bags.

Bundela said that the problem is persistent with vegetable and fruit vendors, as it is tough to implement the policy there.