Green alarm over poll plastic pile

Kolkata: The widespread campaigns before and during the month-long elections in Bengal have concocted a deadly cocktail of environmental hazards, given that the authorities do not have the expertise for scientific disposal of the colossal amount of plastic waste produced.
The 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Kolkata generated over 3,000 tonne plastic waste and this time, environmentalists fear, the amount will be even greater.Despite the Election Com mission's directive against the use of plastic or any non-biodegradable material for can vassing, political parties used them with impunity , not sparing a thought to the city's eco logy. “If we don't carry out an extraordinary drive to dispose of the plastic poll campaign waste, we will have to bear the brunt this monsoon,“ warned an ecologist.
But no such effort seems to have been taken yet, though seven and16 days have passed since the elections were held in south and north Kolkata. Besides torn posters and leaflets littering large parts of the city, lifesize cut-outs of candidates and banners are still propped up, especially in areas dominated by heavyweight leaders. For example, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and party candidate Aroop Biswas' cut-outs are yet to be pulled down from neighbourhoods in Tollygunge constituency . Similarly, hoardings highlighting mayor Sovan Chatterjee's development role are still propped up in parts of Behala. In fact, Chat terjee's campaign has apparently produced the highest plastic waste, followed by that of Trinamool's Paresh Pal in Beliaghata. Some leaders, such as Trinamool's Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay , however, set an example by whitewashing graffiti from walls and pulling down posters. The rest seem to have left the clear-up job to the KMC, though civic officials are awaiting a “proper notice“.“We will clean up but the EC has to first give a specific directive,“ said mayor Chatterjee.
The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB)'s restriction on plastic use for canvassing was imposed way back in 2009 when all parties were instructed to go for only biodegradable material. “ After each election, we find torn banners, flags, festoons, balloons and signboards dumped across the city. They choke drains, and al so make for unhygienic surroundings,“ said former WBPCB legal officer Biswajit Mukjhere. “Gone are those days when at least the communist parties used old newspapers to write their slogans on. They have now been replaced by flex and thin plastic banners. The long durability of these posters plays havoc on environment,“ said political scientist Dr Pradip Chakraborty , pointing at the polythene, ethylene glycol, poly fibre and poly-propylene being used at a great scale.
“The practice can be blamed on politicians' and party workers' low awareness about environment. I briefed all parties about the unmanageable plastic waste generated during polls. They promised to abide by the rule but did not,“ said green activist Somendra Mohan Ghosh, who surveyed booths after 2014 polls, checking for wastes.