TIRUCHY: Bag makers in Pudukkottai have welcomed Chief Minister MK Stalin’s ‘Meendum Manjappai’ scheme to reduce the use of plastic bags, and are all set to print yellow bags, among other cloth bags. One particular outlet, which has been busy since the announcement is Nallu Bag shop. It has been given an order to print yellow bags for some programmes in the district on Tuesday. The shop already makes another bag like the manjappai, except that it is grey.
“We have been running this shop for three years. We print cloth bags, jute bags and rexin bags, among others. The grey cloth bag is one of our best sellers. They are used by everyone, from shops to weddings. After this announcement, we are expecting the sale of cloth bags to go up. Yesterday, I got a wedding order for 1,000 cloth bags. We don’t mix plastic in any of the bags,” Murugesan, owner of Nallu Bags, said.
However, shopkeepers are wary about the sale of cloth bags. A manjappai would cost at least Rs 15, a grey cloth bag `10 and a jute bag starts from `40, Murugesan said. Gada bags are sold for Rs 8. However, these contain a mix of plastic and should not be used.
The busy Allimal Street in Tiruchy has shops selling a variety of bags and wedding cards. Shopkeepers said they would stop selling gada bags soon. However, it is difficult to sell pure cloth bags as they are expensive, they added.
“I have all kinds of bags, from cotton to gada to jute. All these bags are very expensive and customers do not want them. They end up finding some shop which sells plastic bags. Cloth bags do not come cheap. However, we will follow the government’s rules and stop selling even gada bags. I don’t plan to stock up on them once my current stock runs out,” a shopkeeper on Allimal Street said.
Some shopkeepers have expressed hope, saying demand for cloth bags might pick up from January, once wedding season begins.