Hubballi: To put an end to the usage of banned plastic in the twin cities, the district administration, Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation ( HDMC ), Karnataka State Pollution Control Board along with the police department have planned to crackdown on traders, shopkeepers and others selling banned plastic bags and other items.HDMC seizing plastic covers and booking cases has not stopped people from selling and using banned plastic items. Now, a joint action plan is being prepared to deal with this issue with an iron hand.District pollution control board officer Vijay Kumar Kadakbhavi said there is need of more effective action against the use of banned plastic and combined efforts are the need of the hour. Soon a meeting of officials from the police department and HDMC will be held to chalk out an action plan, he added.According to sources, the authorities have decided to call for a meeting with production units, wholesalers, retailers and others to clear their doubts and to inform them of stern action to be taken for using banned plastic. The meeting is likely to be held on Tuesday, sources added.When contacted, HDMC health officer Dr Prabhu Biradar said, “Our staff have been frequently conducting raids and have seized banned plastics. But it did not help much in terms of reaching our target. The joint operations involving all departments could help tackle the practice of using plastic materials by sending a strong message to people who are using such banned items. More than three quintals of banned plastic and other materials was seized last week.”Sources told TOI that zonal assistant commissioners at HDMC’s zonal offices are not showing much interest in implementing the plastic ban and cite this as the reason for the ineffective enforcing of the ban.

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