Rail passenger group wants plastic ban on suburban railways

The Rail Passenger's Association has welcomed the Maharashtra government's plastic ban as it has now demanded that the suburban railways should implement the same.

The association submitted a letter to Union Railway minister, Piyush Goyal, on April 12. The letter stressed on the need to curb garbage thrown on tracks either by rail commuters or by those staying in illegal slums along the rail tracks.

"We have demanded that the food packets and bottled water should be banned from the rail premises," said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of the Federation of Suburban Passengers Association.

Currently, the food stalls sell wafers, popcorn and other food items packaged in plastic covers.

"Unless the railways doesn't ensure that food is not sold in plastic covers on its premises, it will be difficult to control the problem of pollution," said Madhu Kotian, president of the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh.

"Steps are being taken to reduce the use of plastic at stations by the vendors," said a senior rail official.

Despite the availability of separate garbage bins for dry and wet waste, people end littering the rail tracks. During the pre-monsoon clean-up, the railways clear muck, garbage and plastic from drains located in railway premises.

THE PLASTIC MENACE

• The accumulated plastic in the drains leads to water logging on the railway tracks, culverts and gutter; eventually leading to a delay or cancellation of the services.
   
• The Central Railway has cleared 8,300 sacks carrying 250 cubic metre of trash each day.
   
• There are around 1.60 lakh cubic metre of garbage next to the rail tracks that cannot be cleared before February 2019.