Team Herald

MARGAO: The market vendors of Margao have objected to the plan of the local municipality banning use of plastic carry bags in the town. The Market Vendors Association has handed a memorandum to the municipal Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes against the pros and cons of this move.

In their memorandum, the market vendors have pleaded with the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to instruct the manufacturers of various goods to stop packaging their goods in plastic to make the ban a complete success and not to single out the market vendors. 

“The wholesale market vendors have printed several thousand bags of plastic in their name for trade. All these traders are now in a fix,” said Market Association President Vinod Shirodkar who handed over the memorandum to the chief officer. 

Informing that the MMC was charging Rs 48,000 per year from the market vendors for using plastic bags at their shops as licence fees, Shirodkar questioned, “Does paying this Rs 48,000 pardon us from the ban and the ill effect of the plastic use?”

Meanwhile, the chief officer has convened a meeting on Monday to discuss the matters raised by the market vendors.