Maharashtra plastic ban comes into effect, fine up to ₹25,000
MUMBAI: Three months after issuing a notification, and protests and court challenges notwithstanding, the Maharashtra government on Saturday enforced its state-wide ban on a wide range of single-use plastic items and thermocol.
Steep fines ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 will be imposed on those found with these items although viable and cheap alternatives are yet to be devised for mass use.
Commenting on the ban, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state's decision can succeed only if all the stake-holders support the move.
"We want to promote responsible use of plastic. Therefore, we have banned the kind of plastic that cannot be collected, regulated and recycled," he said.
The chief minister said that the ban puts the onus on the polluters, but at the same time some exceptions have been made so that businesses are not hampered till alternatives have a strong presence in the market.
"The ban will succeed only with the participation of all the stake-holders and that the government has made a committee to ensure trouble-shooting and smooth adaptation.
"We do not want to promote police raj and we are also trying to address the concerns of traders and small vendors," Fadnavis said.
Certain plastic items that are not banned will now come with a recycling surcharge to ensure that they are not disposed of recklessly, but sent for recycling.
State environment minister Ramdas Kadam said, "We gave people enough time before we have decided to enforce the ban. This is not like demonetisation that was enforced overnight. The sea is being filled with plastic and this is no longer an issue pertaining just to Maharashtra, but the entire world." Kadam said .
Hailing the ban, Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said although people will have to face some difficulty initially, they will get used to it over the time.
"This decision will change the destiny of our future generations. I am sure this decision taken by the government will serve as an example for the entire world," he said.
Thackeray said work towards the ban on plastic was initiated in August last year, when it was found that plastic had led to major water-logging in Mumbai following continuous downpour.
"A lot of plastic and thermocol was found stuck in gutters which rendered our pumping stations useless and caused flooding in the city. We have since been working on banning use of plastic," he said.
courtesy : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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Jhansi fire: Nurse's heroic efforts helped save over dozen babies
Lucknow/Jhansi (UP), Nov 17: Nurse Megha James was on duty when the fire broke out at the Jhansi hospital and she threw herself headlong into the rescue efforts, playing a hero's role by saving several babies.
Even when her salwar got burned, she refused to give up and was able to evacuate 14-15 babies with others' help.
"I had gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that the (oxygen) concentrator had caught fire. I called the ward boy, who came with the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by then, the fire had spread," James said.
Ten babies perished in a fire that broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi Friday night.
Faced with an enormous blaze, James's mind worked with a frenetic speed, to the extent she cared little about burning herself.
"My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. Then my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," she told PTI Videos.
James just wore another salwar and went back to the rescue operation.
"There was a lot of smoke, and once the lights went out, we could not see anything. The entire staff brought out at least 14-15 children. There were 11 beds in the ward with 23-24 babies," she said.
Had the lights not gone out they could have saved more children, James said. "It all happened very suddenly. None of us had expected it."
Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's valour and recounted bits from how the rescue operation was carried out.
"The hospital staff broke the glasses of the NICU ward to evacuate the babies. It was then Nurse Megha's salwar caught fire. Instead of caring for her safety, she stayed there to rescue the babies and handed them over to people outside," she said.
Sood said James is currently undergoing treatment at the same medical college. She said she did not know the extent of her burns.
"The rescued babies were shifted to a ward very close to the NICU ward… When I recall the scene, I feel like crying," she said.
Dr Anshul Jain, the head of the anaesthesiology department at the medical college, explained the standard rescue operation and claimed the hospital followed the protocol to the T.
"In the triage process during an ICU evacuation, the policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first. The rationale behind this approach is that patients requiring minimal support can be relocated quickly, enabling a larger number of evacuations to be completed in a shorter time.
"In contrast, patients on ventilators or requiring high oxygen support demand more time and resources for evacuation," he said.
"This principle was successfully implemented in Jhansi, playing a significant role in saving many lives," Jain said.
A newborn rescued from the fire died due to illness on Sunday, Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said.
