Local grocery stores bear the brunt
MUMBAI: RESTAURANTS ALSO WERE FORCED TO DENY DELIVERY SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTIC CONTAINERS
The local grocery stores across the city have been most affected by the plastic ban, followed by meat shops, garment shops and restaurants.
Several restaurants were forced to deny delivery services to customers in the absence of any alternatives to plastic containers, especially for curries.
Viren Shah, president, Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA), which has about 3.5 lakh members, said there are about 75,000 kirana and provisions stores in Mumbai out of which about 700 did not open due to fear of penalties.
In about 1.5 lakh stores in Mumbai, a drop of 25% in sales was witnessed. Many artificial imitation jewellery markets did not open for two days fearing penalties for using plastic packing material at retail level.
The Association of Hotels and Restaurants (Ahar) also asked the government to provide hoteliers with alternatives to deliver hot liquid food items, which at present are being denied to customers.
However, Nidhi Choudhary, deputy municipal commissioner, said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been giving leeway to restaurants if they were found using plastic containers for liquids like soups. There continued to be confusion on ground over this issue with Ahar denying any such leeway.
Santosh Shetty, president of Ahar, said, “Hotels have witnessed almost 20% loss during the weekend especially as the parcel services were hit. Food has to be delivered hot and we have no alternative to plastic while delivering food items like gravy, soups and juices.’’
“We would like for the government to provide us alternatives in such cases. People are being harassed as there is no clarity still on the issue. We are totally in support of the ban and so we are ready to accept the alternatives that the government would provide. In some cases hotels are denying service to customers if they order for any liquid items,’’ he added.
He also said that they informed the finance and forest ministries that this is not just about plastic ban but a huge revenue issue too. “We did try paper products but hot food like sambar leaks. There is also a lot of food wastage as customers are not able to take back the leftover.”
On day two of the ban, a popcorn stall was penalised in R City mall in Ghatkopar for plastic containers meant for candy floss. The stall owner was fined ₹5,000. He said, “We got rid of plastic bags but since someone said that plastic containers are allowed, I kept those, but the BMC staff came and penalised me for it.”
Some shops in Goregaon were found to be selling meat in plastic bags but then wrap it in newspapers to hide it from the authorities. While many vendors are trying to convince customers to bring their own bags, retail chains have started giving loose items like rice and pulses in paper bags. The Natraj Garment market in Malad saw a dip in Sunday business as some shops remained closed fearing penalties while some continued giving out plastic bags to regular customers.