Opening Kashmir to EU Delegation is based on Pick and Choose Nature

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November 4, 2019

With no doubt, opening Kashmir for delegation from outside Jammu and Kashmir to visit state and assess the situation for themselves is an important step for democracy and transparency. But if the government would do that ensuring without the selective nature of pick and choose, it could serve the purpose far better. Otherwise the exercise becomes suspect, cosmetic and aimed at optics that can be counter-productive.

Though it is a good walk to unlock the situation and restore the normalcy in the state but the visit of a delegation of lawmakers for European Union must be weighed in the light that Indian lawmakers were restrained from the same purpose. The political leanings of the group of 27 lawmakers from different parts of Europe are different. What is much noteworthy in this fray is intriguing manner in which this delegation was give permission while Indians were not within last three months.

Since the Modi-led government revoked J&K’s special status under Article 370 and bifurcated the state into three union territories, many delegations of politicians tried to visit the state to see the ground reality of J&K but never succeeded. On August 24, a delegation of nine opposition parties led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited J&K to meet the people and party leaders in the region where restrictions have been imposed. However, the delegation was not allowed to step out of Srinagar airport and was sent back. Parties that were part of the delegation included Congress, CPI-M, CPI, RJD, NCP, TMC, and DMK. In this backdrop if the oppositions are lashing out the government’s decision is not wrong.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the delegation and while welcoming them, he expressed the hope that they have a fruitful visit to various parts of the country including Jammu and Kashmir. PMO statement said, “Their visit to J&K should give the delegation a better understanding of the cultural and religious diversity of the region of J&K and Ladakh, a part from giving them a clear view of the development and government priorities of the region.”

But the main question that lingers over the heads of many including oppositions is, did the government allow EU MPs to interact with locals of J&K and valley to better know the ground reality? Were they permitted to meet the common people who could tell them how they are living there in the state?

The delegation including two government officials reportedly was driven in cavalcade of blacks, accompanied by armed troops and security jeeps. Though it is not an individual’s case that this delegation should be stopped from visiting as some media outlets are suggesting but what is more important is that the delegation must have freedom to move around the state.

This shift of the government would be meaningful only if all the deletions from across the country and the world wishing to visit Kashmir to take a stock of the situation of Kashmir are allowed entry into state without any selective basis of pick and choose. There is no justification now for stopping all other Indian or foreign delegations including media team foreign press.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 04 November, 2019

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Web Team

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November 4, 2019

Save Aarey forest

As a resident of Mumbai for the last 60 years, I am not against the Metro car shed being constructed at the Aarey colony site in Goregaon because we all know how vastly it would improve our transport system. However, all I want is to stop the trees in the forest area from being cut down because it has been there for hundreds of years and a lot of tribal people (Adivasis) who worship the trees live there.
Felling of trees for the sake of constructing a car shed is not a wise move. The trees must be saved by all means because like the cow, it is sacred to some people.

Jubel D’Cruz

Flag bearers of BJP need to end saffron stalemate

The mandate in Maharashtra state elections is for BJP-Sena and it is up to the flag bearers to come to a conclusion and break the stalemate. Instead of making the people to suffer, the coalition partners should play a positive role and see that there is no further delay in forming the government. There are pressing problems pending and it is up to the high command of these two parties to come to a conclusion. They should be able to honor the mandate of the people in the best way possible instead of just buying time. Sena should adhere to coalition dharma and the Maharashtra deadlock should come to an end soon.

Krishnan Maniam

Farokh Engineer should respect the fairer sex

Farokh Engineer may have been a flamboyant debonair cricketer of his times but he has no business to ridicule Virat Kohli’s actress wife Anushka Sharma in public. His comments about selectors serving tea to Anushka during a World Cup game in England was in bad taste. Serving tea is courtesy and Anushka though has denied the claim. Engineer has made a mountain out of a molehill and should apologise to Anushka Sharma in public.

Virat and Anushka are both celebrities in their own world and both have a vast fan following. Targeting them for cheap publicity is unfair and unethical. Celebrities too have a personal life and let us all respect and give them that space. Farokh Engineer loves to be in the news but the former India wicketkeeper should realise that modern day cricket is stressful as well as professional and he should respect the privacy of fellow cricketers.

S.N. Kabra

Build colony for accommodating Central govt ministers

It refers to proposed plan of new Central Vista in New Delhi for construction of new most-modern and spacious buildings for Parliament, Central Secretariat, office and residence for Prime Minister, all between Rashtrapati Bhawan and India Gate retaining present heritage buildings of Sansad Bhawan, North Block and South Block as Museum of Democracy, The Making of India and India at Seventy-Five respectively.

But at the same time, a colony should also be developed nearby on lines of New Moti Bagh for building accommodations for all the ministers in Central Government at one consolidated place for reducing expenses on security and reducing traffic-congestion and man-hours in ministers going to their offices and to attend Parliament.

Long-term planning should also include construction of more multi-storey accommodations to shift residences of all Parliamentarians in multi-storey buildings rather than providing accommodation to many of them in extra-ordinary spacious government-bungalows.

Large number of such vacated government-bungalows can be developed in five-starred resorts to be given on rental to desiring ones including to foreigners as guest-houses or vocational luxurious stay on commercial basis.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

SC dismisses Vikas Yadav’s plea for parole

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Web Team

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November 4, 2019

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the parole plea of Vikas Yadav, who is serving a 25-year jail term for killing business executive Nitish Katara in 2002.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the convict was awarded 25 years of jail term and it has to be served without any grant of remission.

“You have been sentenced for 25 years of imprisonment, complete it,” the bench said, while dismissing the plea of Yadav for grant of four-week parole.

The bench, meanwhile, also dismissed another plea of Yadav in which he had challenged the constitutional validity of the Delhi High court order awarding him 25 years of jail term without any remission.

Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav were sentenced for kidnapping and killing Katara on the intervening night of February 16 and 17, 2002 for his alleged affair with Bharti Yadav, sister of Vikas, as they belonged to different castes.

The third convict Sukhdev Pehalwan was granted 20 years of jail term in the case.

Yadav had sought grant of parole on grounds including that he has already served over 17 years of jail term in the Katara murder case.

5 killed, 30 injured in bus accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

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Web Team

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November 4, 2019

Mumbai-Pune Highway Bus Accident Bhor Ghat,Mumbai,Pune,Highway,Bhor Ghat — Image Courtesy: ANI

At least five people lost their lives and 30 injured in a major accident took place on Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Bhor Ghat on Monday morning.

According to the report, the accident took place in early morning at 5 am. The bus was heading towards Mumbai when the driver lost control of the vehicle after which the accident occurred. Reportedly, the bus went steep down by some 30 to 40 feet. There were more than 50 passengers on the bus including the bus driver and two helpers.

The deceased passengers have been identified as Sachin Thorat (3), Sneha Janardhan Patil (15), Janardhan Patil (45), Sanjay Shivaji Rakshe (50) and Pramila Ramachandra Mohite (50) .

Mumbai-Pune Highway Bus Accident Bhor Ghat,Mumbai,Pune,Highway,Bhor Ghat,Accident — Image Courtesy: ANI

As per the report, the vehicle crashed near a gorge but did not fall inside. The injured people have been rushed to MGM Kamote hospital, and Lokmanya hospital for treatment.

The reason behind the accident is yet to be ascertained. The officers are investigating the matter, further details are awaited.

Assembly elections: Satta Bazaar bets on Fadnavis for CM and Sena-BJP in power

By

Vaidehi Taman

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November 3, 2019

Indian politics is often described as being feisty, vibrant, colourful, controversial, debatable, provocative, all of that and more. It all depends on which side of the spectrum you stand and there is a perspective, always. People are aware, concerned and involved, good or bad, it shows the vibrancy of politics in India. With the time, every common man is taking huge interest in politics of nation and some say Indian politics is much more entertaining than the cricket match. Perhaps, here comes the ‘Satta Bazaar‘ that seems to have received a big boost from the roadshow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to social media campaigns. Opposition leaders say that ‘Satta Bazaar’ trends are manipulated by BJP supporters and are therefore not reliable. These days they don’t even trust EVM, they believe that the votes are too manipulated. Still, Assembly Elections 2019: Maharashtra’s ‘Satta Bazaar’ sizzles in electoral heat. The informal, black money-backed betting rackets have been fairly active but the clandestine nature of operations prevents verification of claims.

The financial capital of India’s ‘Satta Bazaar’, scandalous for swaying political trends with huge stakes, is sizzling in the political heat generated by the flabbergasted Assembly elections results. Insiders say the stakes are high and multi-targeted, from victories to defeats and margins. “So far, the wind is blowing and National Democratic Alliance‘s (NDA) forming the government. The Congress this time did fairly well in Maharashtra. NCP just bounced back, and both the parties proved that there are still voters for them. So the dream of Congress or NCP Mukt Bharat or Maharashtra is not possible ever. The Sena-BJP alliance has good support among betting circles. Punters were little cautious, when BJP could not get expected majority and Sena leaders were passing random comments over their demands. In 2014, BJP was assured of overwhelming mass support. But after five years in 2019, the voters escalated. BJP is a single largest party but they cannot form government on their own.

Betting circuits were cold till after the conclusion of assembly elections but have picked up after the tussles between Sena-BJP. Restive allies and rebellion in the ranks became trouble for the BJP. There were too many leaders from other parties joined BJP and the party could not accommodate its own leaders in the greed of appeasing outsiders flown in the party. The most anticipated elections results, if one goes by the odds placed on various parties and candidates in the illegal betting market. Devendra, punters believe, will be crowned the Chief minister for the second term. The price climbs to Rs 1.80 for Sena-BJP alliance. Some betting operators believe that the party is capable of reaching 150 seats on its own but that did not happen. A punter can bet any amount on a range of scenarios, for instance, on the BJP winning 150 seats. If this comes true, the bettor gets 22 paise on every rupee bet. If the bet was Rs 1 lakh, the punter gets back Rs 1.22 lakh. There’s an inverse relationship between odds and the chances of winning the latter declines as the former rises. Bookies said the level of interest is very high and they expect total turnover to cross Rs 10000 crore by the time elections are concluded, compared with Rs 5000 crore in the last election in 2014. Every opinion poll has suggested since 2003 that Congress will not win but still they returned. The BJP also seemed unwilling to take the betting market too seriously but most of the voters in the state want Devendra as CM and assessments are based on this public perception. In 2014 and 2019 assembly elections, bookies made a lot of money as nobody expected BJP and Sena will lock horns over their pre-promised demands.

People are glued to all news channels looking at the Sena-BJP leaders and their interviews. Who will be sworn in is bit confusing because Sena also declared that their leaders would be swearing in as CM, and on the other hand Devendra claimed that he would be swearing in on 8^th of November. Whereas people on social network have their own opinion, anyways these are just speculations as the respective party leaders will decide the fate of political parties in respective positions.

Meanwhile, there are two interesting factors to be kept in mind while watching news channels. One, the money that is sponsored and paid for showing favour to one party, and other one is Satta Bazaar that is influencing people to bet more on certain party in association with TV channel telecast on speculation. The moment Television channels began broadcasting exit polls for Maharashtra, the Satta Bazaar shot up. The picture of BJP was very glossy. Maharashtra has definitively picked the BJP, according to most polls; the party appears to have retained here.

Apart from Satta Bazaar, there are many private bookies and gambling dens, who are sponsors to various news sources. The predictions are made for gaining business in terms of revenue and TRP, if you see in the past two years, the BJP has not been faring too well in the state elections, with the party facing debacles in key power centers like Bihar and Delhi. Then too bookies played it well, and now they are suggesting what they have to. Meanwhile, BJP is very much confident in forming its government. Let’s see, what happens ahead.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Sena-BJP wins on betting on turncoats

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Web Team

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November 3, 2019

Betting on cricket is more popular in urban areas as compared to rural areas. “The ‘Satta’ market believes Devendra has an edge over Shiv Sena and it will be Devendra Government,” the bookie said. The betting market has shown a lot of interest in Mumbai, with Devendra as CM and Aaditya Thackeray as Deputy CM.

“The minimum betting amount is Rs 10,000. We have different mobile apps, websites and direct investment is also possible. The bidding price fluctuates every day,” a bookie said.

Post Assembly election results and speculations on different possibilities; the underground betting market has reached a state of ecstasy.

The bookies of Mumbai and Vidarbha told Afternoon Voice on the condition of anonymity that the political betting has grown so big that it has even surpassed punting on the IPL or Cricket. Different estimates by them suggest that the size of the election betting market now stands at over Rs 10,000 crores, almost twice as big as it was in 2014. Since betting is unregulated and illegal, Afternoon Voice could not authenticate or verify this figure. The exponential growth of the ‘Satta‘ market has also been aided by mobile apps and websites, with many of them operating abroad – where betting is legalised.

“It is a multi-million dollar business. Bets change every day,” said a person familiar with the international betting market, referring to a website operating from Canada which offers daily betting rates for the BJP and Sena alliance government.

Nishant Vilas Birje, Yuva Sena Vasai Taluka Chief Coordinator said, “The ruling alliance has not performed well in the last five years. There is a slowdown in almost all sectors which has hit the business community hard.”

“The bookies have favoured BJP to perform well. The Congress is facing internal issues, many of their senior leaders have rebelled and joined BJP which would help the party to retain power in Maharashtra,” he added.

In Mumbai, the market predicts BJP’s CM and Sena-BJP to power. Bookies believe there is a tight triangular contest among the BJP, Sena and the NCP, but the saffron party leads on the back of PM Narendra Modi‘s popularity. “Though there is no Modi wave in the country, there is a hint of urban voters by and large casting their votes for the BJP said Mumbai based Bookies.

‘Satta Bazaar‘ predicts that the Sena-BJP will come to power, they will manage to form the government over lot of internal compromises. The Congress and NCP on the other hand will sit in opposition. Initially, there was huge betting on Sena-NCP alliance, but as time passes, the betting has comedown heavily on this combination.

This means for every rupee 1 placed on Sena- BJP, one would get 2 rupees, and if the BJP doesn’t come to power its rate will be Rs 100. On Rupee 1 played on Devendra as CM, would get 2 rupees. On other than Devendra if one Rupee played, one would get 200. In many cases, the party’s vote shares decide the betting rate.

By Akshay Redij

Schools in Noida, Gr Noida shut till Nov 5 due to rising pollution

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Web Team

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November 3, 2019

All government and private schools up till Class 12 in Noida and Greater Noida will remain closed on November 4 and 5 in the wake of spike in the pollution level, officials said on Sunday. The air quality in the twin-cities adjoining Delhi has worsened since Friday and Saturday, as per the official data.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration said the decision has been taken as the levels of particulate matter 2.5 and 10 have been excessive in the air since Diwali, resulting in a major dip in the overall air quality.

“Transport vehicles like buses and minibuses, which a lot of schools use to ferry children, are a major contributor of PM 2.5 and PM 10. The movement of such vehicles in the city now could aggravate the situation,” District Magistrate B N Singh said in a written order.

“Hence, it is ordered that all schools up till Class 12 in Gautam Buddh Nagar will remain closed on November 4 and 5,” he said.

At 10.35 a.m. on Sunday, the air quality index (AQI) of Noida was 487, while that of Greater Noida was 470, both in the “severe” category, which means it affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases.

On the other hand, Delhi was enveloped in a thick layer of smog on Sunday morning with the minimum temperature settling at 18.7 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season’s average. The city received 0.3 mm rain in the past 24 hours which slightly lowered the hazardous level of air pollutants in the air. Relative humidity was 85 per cent at 8.30 a.m., said a Met. department official.

The day is forecast to remain generally cloudy with light rain or drizzle expected later on. The maximum temperature will be around 28 degrees Celsius, he said. The air seed was around three knots at 8.30 a.m., the official said, adding the visibility was poor due to the smog. Some respite is expected from the heavy pollution, with strong surface winds forecast in daytime on Monday and Tuesday.

Why was Manmohan silent during Congress reign?

By

C K Subramaniam

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November 3, 2019

Blame game must be stopped by both national parties (Congress and BJP). Instead efforts should be taken to strengthen our Banking sector as well as mode of its lending by proper risk assessment. Credit rating agency’s quality is to be standardized and enhanced. RBIs “regulating” aspect must be carefully monitored. Our economic advisers have to pin point the areas where economic activity needs more attention.

In a recent outburst Dr. Manmohan Singh attacked NDA government for its failure to address major problems relating to the Indian Economy. He addressed a meeting recently and reiterated that ‘The main problem in our economy is the shortage of demand’. The event, titled “Words of Wisdom on Indian Economy” came rather late from the ex-prime minister of India creating a controversy. He went on to add that the government needs to at least fix economic crisis, if it cannot diagnose the problem. However, the problem commenced during the 10 year rule of the UPA government.

The slackness in our economy started over a decade back before BJP government took over. A silent statement during the time of scams now Manmohan speaks his mind. It was rather too late but came as a rejoinder to the BJP led government. It appears as though the pot is calling the kettle back. Despite Congress rule for so many years, why is it that the railways’ infrastructure increased only by a mere 30-35%, while the demand increased by 16 times. In this situation, it is natural that the railways should be overloaded.

The UPA regime under Dr. Singh had bequeathed a doddering economy to the nation and that all sorts of scams be it the telecom fraud of ₹1.76 lakh crore or the ‘Coalgate’ scam of ₹1.86 lakh crore occurred during the Congress-led government. Apart from that Suresh Kalmadi as an Indian politician and senior sports administrator involved in corrupt practices in relation to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. So India was facing trouble on economic front during his time but the buck was passed on to the present government. There were scams exploding all around Dr. Singh, who only had one answer: that these are the compulsions of coalition politics. DMK the main coalition partner exploited their position as the single largest party made money when the sun shines.

While we concede that the demand had been slow in the previous two quarters and the demand was generally subdued. The government exudes confidence that it would be successful in reversing the slowdown. The Finance Minister has taken a number of proactive steps gauging the economy from time to time and so both investment and demand will pick up soon. Before 2014 Anna Hazare had vigorously protested in Jantar Mantar and he also demanded the formation of Lokpal in 2014 and now it stands forgotten. Kiran Bedi has now become Governor of Pondichery and Baba Ramdev has become a leading businessman and Arvind Kejirwal is silenced.

Ex-PM felt that the government is obsessed with trying to somehow fix blame on its opponents. In the process, it is unable to find solutions that will ensure revival of the economy, particularly strengthening of our banking system. But most of the banking scams perpetrated from the UPA regime and that is pinching the present government as well. Had he felt the need of speaking then we would have been better of now and the national party would not have suffered such a humiliation. Corruption is the grass root for all the problems and the political parties need to admit this. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s regime was marked by rampant corruption and that every rule was disregarded and the basic tenets of transparency were discarded to the advantage of individuals and no one was ready to open the mouth then and there lies the crux of all the problems. It is time to stop blame game and there should be only constructive criticism and it should not be just for the sake of pointing fingers.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 03 November, 2019

By

Web Team

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November 3, 2019

Babasaheb Ambedkar: The architect of Indian constitution

It’s heartening to know that the Ministry of Human Resource Development has requested schools and other educational institutions across the country to celebrate Constitution Day on November 26, 2019 and a series of events to follow. The celebration will end on Ambedkar Jayanti in January 2020.

The ministry has directed the institutions to conduct activities connected with our Constitution and fundamental rights. This no doubt will help in creating more awareness about the constitution and fundamental duties among the younger generation. The celebration also will give students a beautiful picture of the deeds ,achievements and the role played by the architect of our Indian Constitution – Babasaheb Ambedkar in the nation’s history. A role model for every Indian Babasaheb Ambedkar played a vital role in the overall development and well-being of Indians. His role in uplifting the downtrodden and those suppressed by casteism make him a legendary leader. Babasaheb always stressed on education as he taught the Indians that only through education that one can progress and prosper and also it is the only tool that can be used to eliminate social evils. The events will definitely give first hand knowledge to the students about Babasaheb who was a multifaceted person – a jurist, educationist, social reformer, historian and above all a leader of the mass who dedicated his whole life for the commoners.

M Pradyu

Need to have permanent amnesty scheme in form of elephant bonds

According to media-reports, a high-level government-committee led by economist Surjit Bhalla has recommended an amnesty scheme in form of elephant-bonds wherein those declaring undisclosed money or assets could pay 15-per cent tax after investing 40-per cent of undisclosed amount in 20-year elephant-bonds yielding nominal 5-per cent annual interest. Central government should take decision on the proposal soon because currency-circulation after demonetisation of old currency on November 8, 2016 has increased by about 20-percent instead of anticipated reduction. Only paving way for cashless economy can increase revenue-earning, check tax-evasion and corruption both. Rather thought should be given to have permanent amnesty scheme in form of elephant bonds by modifying modalities for 30-percent tax and 50-percent investment in elephant-bonds for ten years with interest-yield of 5-percent per annum as a permanent way to check currency-circulation, revenue-earning and investment in infrastructure in turn creating employment also.

Simultaneously instead of any demonetisation, those having rupees-2000 currency notes may be asked to deposit these in bank-accounts and withdraw if needed immediately or as per need thus not affecting common people or having accounted cash in form of 2000-rupee notes. It will automatically make those having unaccounted cash in form of rupees-2000 notes to avail amnesty scheme in form of elephant-bonds.

Madhu Agrawal

Shrinking core sector worries

According to the Index of Eight Core Industries, September’s contraction came after a marginal growth of 0.1 per cent registered in August. The contrast in output pace was even more evident on a year-on-year basis, when the growth rate stood at 4.3 per cent in September 2018. The eight core industries include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. The Index of eight core industries, barring fertilisers, all the other seven sectors contracted in September. The core sectors comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). Core sector performance in September 2019 has been the lowest in the last 12 months and negative for the first time and it is alarming situation to give a boost to the core industries in India.

Gundu K. Maniam

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Single-use plastics will be banned on Indian ships from January 1

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Web Team

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November 3, 2019

From forthcoming January 1, Indian ships will prohibit on board a large number of single-use plastic products, including ice cream containers, hot dish cups, microwave dishes and potato chips bags.

The decision has been taken in larger public interest by the Directorate General of Shipping following an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 to “take the first big step” towards freeing India of single-use plastics.

Not only a large number of single-use plastics will be prohibited to be used on board Indian ships but will also be banned in foreign ships when in Indian waters.

The Directorate General of Shipping has come out with an order prohibiting a large number of single-use plastics in Indian ships and foreign ships in Indian waters from January 2, 2020.

The list of items contain bags, trays, containers, food packaging film, milk bottles, freezer bags, shampoo bottles, ice cream containers, bottles for water and other drinks, dispensing containers for cleaning fluid and biscuits trays.

Items prohibited also include hot drink cups, insulated food packaging, protective packaging for fragile items, microwave dishes, ice cream tubs, potato chips bags and bottle caps.

Besides, the Directorate has banned use of single-use plastic cutlery, plates and cups, up to 10 litres of bottles for water and other drinks, garbage and shopping bags and dispensing containers for cleaning fluids which are less than 10 litres volume with immediate impact.

It has directed authorities to “ensure during surveys, inspection and audit of Indian ships that single-use plastics are not found used/stored on board any Indian ship” and added that in case of non compliance and repeated offence it will be a case for detention.

It also said that foreign ships intending to enter Indian waters will have to declare single use plastic items on-board and no such items will be discharged at Indian ports.

Quoting international reports it said most common finds during international coastal cleanups are, in order of magnitude – cigarette butts, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, plastic grocery bags, plastic lids, straw and stirrer, glass beverage bottles and and other kind of plastic bags.

It said single-use throw-away plastics contaminate soil, river and water-bodies with irreparable damage.

According to International Maritime Organisation (IMO), marine litter presents a huge problem in oceans with some scientists warning that by 2050, the quantity of plastics in the oceans will outweigh the fishes.