SHANGLA: The Shangla district administration on Tuesday introduced biodegradable shopping bags and banned use of plastic bags.

In this respect, the district administration in collaboration with Bisham TMA organised an awareness walk in Bisham Bazaar.

Later, an outlet was inaugurated for distributing the biodegradable shopping bags.

Officials, traders, elders and civil society activists participated in the walk.

On the occasion, assistant commissioner Wajid Ali urged the public to use the biodegradable shopping bags instead of plastic bags which were polluting the environment. He said keeping the district clean was responsibility of every citizen.

He asked the traders to dump waste at the designated places until the TMA placed the dustbins.

On the occasion, the local people complained about collapse of drainage system in Bisham city, to which the TMO assured that the problem would be fixed soon.

Bisham Tehsil Nazim Mohammad Tahir assured the traders that a cleanliness drive would be launched in the city soon and requested cooperation of the traders with the TMA staff.

Meanwhile, the truckers blocked the Karakoram Highway for half an hour on Tuesday to record their resentment over failure of the officials of government goods agencies to visit them despite they had been protesting for last one week.

The good transporters are demanding increase in fares and a halt to fines imposed on them while one way to Gilgit-Baltistan.

They chanted slogans against the goods agencies and demanded of them to increase their fare keeping in view the hike in petroleum products.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2018