BHUBANESWAR: Polythene packets and bags - the sale and use of which was prohibited by the state government in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack Sambalpur , Rourkela, Berhampur and Puri on October 2 - have saved the day for relief workers in the flood-affected Ganjam and Gajapati districts. They have been used to carry cooked food to thousands of people kept in relief camps in these two districts.The government officials in these areas - especially in Purusottampur block of Ganjam - pleaded helplessness. "We had to use polythene bags to distribute cooked food. We used bags that could carry three kg of food each. We couldn't have packed the cooked food in any other container," said collector (Ganjam) Vijay Amrit Kulange.The Ganjam administration distributed 2,000 food packets in the block, which was hit hardest by Cyclone Titli and the subsequent floods. The Aska block in the district, which was also badly affected, didn't require cooked food to be distributed.Environment campaigner Biswajit Mohanty said it was understandable that the government had to use polythene bags to pack food during an emergency. He added, however, that the government could have explored alternatives such as aluminium foil . "Aluminium foil is absolutely recyclable. I think the government should come up with an alternative because polythene is harmful," he said.Another environmentalist, Ranjan Panda, said, "The government had to go back to polythene because it had not kept a fall-back option ready before imposing the ban on plastic. Between the announcement of the ban and its actual implementation, the government had two months' time but no alternative was planned," he said.Polythene waste comprises 10 per cent of household and municipal solid waste in the state capital. It has been found that polythene causes the maximum damage to drains here, leading to frequent waterlogging.

Stay updated with all the Latest Bhubaneswar headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.