Ashwini M Sripad By

BENGALURU: Anil Kumar came to Bengaluru from Motihari in Bihar 21 years ago. After working as a helper and an operator in a private plastic manufacturing unit for 15 years, he started his own unit with the provident fund money. For the past six years, 45-year-old Anil has been managing the unit with seven people working under him, until the plastic ban move by the state government came as a bolt from the blue.

Anil owns SJA Plastics in Peenya Industrial Area. The unit is into production of polythene bags, especially for food products.

“I started my business with an investment of Rs 2 lakh, which was the provident fund I earned from my previous industry. Gradually, I started getting more orders and took a loan to meet them. Today I have a loan of Rs 20 lakh which is yet to be repaid.

“Now the government has banned plastic. The seven people working in my industry have seven families depending on me,” he said.

He said ever since he came from Bihar, he has learnt nothing except work related to plastic manufacturing. “What do I do now? I have a family. I cannot beg,” he said.

Another person who feels he has reached the dead end is Prasad. He has been working as an operator at Anugraha Packlines for the past 15 years.

“I started as a helper and am now working as an operator. Our unit manufactures 25,000 pieces per month. My parents, wife and child are dependent on me. I have studied till SSLC and all these years I have learnt nothing else. What should I do now? I don’t even have land to fall back on. I have taken a personal loan of Rs 7 lakh for my parents’ medical expenses. My owner used to give me a rent allowance and gas cylinder expense along with the salary,” he said.

“I have my commitments and cannot work for a lower salary elsewhere,” he added.

Ashwath Narayan Rao has been running Shiva Polybag for 16 years.

“We manufacture 300 kg of polythene bags, which comes to around 30,000 pieces a month. Our unit has been shut for the past 15 days. No one is buying polythene bags. We have one lakh pieces stored in our godown.

“We are ready to buy plastic from the BBMP for Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kilo, provided it is not given with other waste material. Plastic can be recycled. Roads are made using plastic,” he said. He added that plastic manufacturing is a green category because it does not require cutting trees unlike paper bags. “We do not pollute the environment,” he said.

Also debt-ridden are Rekha and Mohan, a couple who own Kalleshwara Poly Bags. They have a Rs 10 lakh loan to repay.

“I pay Rs 10,000 to the bank as interest every month. I do not have any work now. I had two workers in my unit where my wife and I also worked,” Mohan said.

Protest Rally Held

At least 600 people from plastic manufacturing units,

including traders and stakeholders conducted a rally from the City Market to Mysuru Bank Circle on

Wednesday. V Vijaykumar, President of Karnataka Plastic Manufacture Industries Association, said this is a

peaceful march. “It is more about spreading awareness among the public. It is to tell them that plastic will not harm the environment if recycled,” he said.

Workers Suffer Without Salaries

There are some workers who have not received their salary for a while.

Vasantha, who works as a helper at a private manufacturing unit said, “We have not received salaries for the last two months. No one is taking the stocks, hence no salary. I have been working in this industry for the past 12 years. I come to the unit every day but find it locked. I have a family. We have nowhere to go now,” she said.

Mahantesh, President of Peenya Plastic Manufacturers’ Association, said he runs three units, which together employ 50 people, most of them women. “If there is no plastic in garbage, pourakarmikas or ragpickers do not pick that waste. The state government is putting out a red carpet for foreign investors. Give that encouragement to us too. Provide us with better infrastructure and loans. We will make our state number one,” he said.

Mahantesh worries that with the state government implementing the ban, plastic industry owners and workers who are in debt might take the farmers’ way and kill themselves.

The association, with other forums across the state, is gearing up to approach the High Court.

plastic units plan to move High court

Sunil Ahuja from Vinayaka Industries makes disposal cups and plates out of plastic.

“We have 35 labourers sitting idle as our unit has been shut for the past two days. We make lakhs of cups and plates every day. We have kept stock in the godown. The government did not even give time to clear the stock. This Friday, a notification was issued stating that there will be a ban with immediate effect. We too have taken a loan and have to pay our workers. We have hit a dead end,” he said.

There are 80 manufacturing units that make disposal plastic cups and plates across Karnataka, of which 45 are in Bengaluru. They will approach the High Court against the ban.

Minister Clueless About Ban Impact

The state government has banned plastic without making any alternative arrangement for people who are directly and indirectly working in the plastic industry across the state.

When asked about the three lakh people affected by the ban, Labour Minister P T Parameshwar Naik told Express that he was unaware about the impact of the ban.

“What can we do? It is not the state government’s decision. We did it after a court direction,” he said.

When asked further, the minister said, “Let the people concerned come and meet me. Let’s sit and discuss.”

How it will affect others

Neeraj Patil owns Plasmix Private Limited which supplies fillers (mixed component of calcium (80 per cent) and polymers (20 per cent) to plastic manufacturing industries. Of the 700 tonnes of fillers produced, they supply at least 300 tonnes to polythene bag makers. Patil said they will be affected badly by the ban on plastic bags. The state government should allow the units to make polythene bags that are more than 80 microns, he said and added that this will not affect the stakeholders or the environment.

Rajan makes machinery for manufacturing units producing polythene bags. “I used to get at least two orders in a month. This has stopped for the last three months following a draft notification regarding the ban. People fear buying these machines. Each machine costs from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. I do not know what to do now,” he said.

At least 250 traders in Bengaluru are staging protests. Shops selling disposable cups, plates and spoons on Avenue Road were shut on Tuesday. They too will approach the High Court. Shops in the city stayed closed on Wednesday as well.

Bruhat Bengaluru Hoteliers Association members have already approached the High Court. “When it comes to parcels, we cannot give sambar in paper bags. We need plastic containers,” said a city-based hotelier, who did not wish to be identified.