the Goa state authorities are making all possible efforts to ensure that the state's drive against plastic bags is successful. The state had banned plastic bags less than 20 microns thickness from August 15, 2000 in accordance with the Union government's recycled plastic manufacture and usage rules. Boards informing the public about their harmful effects have been put up at market places. "These translucent bags cannot be reused and, therefore, they are thrown everywhere and anywhere," says N P S Varde, coordinator of the drive against plastic.
Plastic bags are a serious problem in Goa with its beaches and towns full of them. They also create stagnation and filth by choking drains, especially in the coastal villages. But the local authorities do not have the power to punish anybody found guilty of using recycled plastic bags and, therefore, the state government has requested the Union ministry of environment and forests to empower them in this respect.
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