PESHAWAR, Sept 15: The NWFP has directed Peshawar and Mardan districts to impose a ban on the use and sale of black polythene bags in their jurisdiction with immediate effect, official sources told Dawn here on Wednesday.

Instructions to this effect were issued to the nazims of the two district governments on Sept 1, 2004, under an official letter by the NWFP local council board. According to the sources in the provincial environment department, the ban would gradually be extended to all districts.

"In the first phase, the district governments of Peshawar and Mardan shall impose a complete ban on the sale and use of black polythene bags in their jurisdiction," contained the official communique dispatched separately to the nazims of both the districts.

The government, said Dr Bashir Khan, director of the provincial Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), had decided in the first instance to impose the ban on black bags, which are more hazardous than plastic bags in other colours.

Experts say that even carrying food items in black plastic bags is not safe because of the chemical contents used in its manufacturing. The district governments have been instructed to take the action in line with the NWFP Local Government Ordinance, 2001.

Though the instructions to the two district governments do not specifically stipulate imposition of the ban on its manufacturing, officials said the provision of the ordinance referred to under the local council board's letter also covered the manufacturing.

Improper disposal of plastic bags on the part of end-users has undermined soil fertility and blocked sewage system in several parts of the provincial capital and other parts of the province.