SIX months ago the government made an announcement pledging to make Islamabad a plastic-free zone.

The authorities in the capital city said they would impose heavy fines on people found using and producing these bags.

In the beginning, commendable efforts were seen, and as a result most of the shops, big or small, even Sunday markets began to avoid using plastic bags. However, after a few weeks, plastic bags with stamps were seen in the markets. The shopkeepers said they were allowed by the authorities to use them as they were less harmful. As time passed, plastic bags reappeared everywhere except the big stores.

I wonder what went wrong and why the relevant authorities did not honour their promise of making Islamabad a plastic-free zone.

Uroos Qindeel
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2020