Visakhapatnam: Street vendors in Vizag are facing significant challenges after Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) banned plastic recently.While imposing the ban, GVMC has provided vendors with contact numbers of wholesale suppliers from whom they could by alternatives to plastic. However, vendors are reporting difficulty in obtaining alternative materials.Siddi Sampath Kumar, a ragi malt seller on Beach Road, shared his concerns with Deccan Chronicle. “I sell ragi malt for Rs 20 per glass. The glass cost Rs 1 before the ban. But now, GVMC wants us to use sugarcane husk glasses, which cost Rs 4 per glass. What will I have left,” he asked.Sampath Kumar said moreover, sugarcane husk glasses are often unavailable in the market. Only double-layer glasses are available for Rs 2, but they are not sturdy enough for customers’ convenience.When contacted by Deccan Chronicle, wholesale distributor B. Subramaniam explained: “In case the corporation does not enforce the plastic ban strictly, presently banned glasses will reappear in the market. As our investment is at risk, we are hesitant about importing the sugarcane husk glasses from Ayodhya.”Not just glasses, street vendors are struggling to find affordable and suitable alternatives to the earlier plastic materials that they used.The situation underscores the need for having viable alternatives in place before enforcing the ban successfully.
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