Cash awards galore but no dispensers for manjapai

VELLORE: The government recently announced awards of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 3 lakh to three schools, colleges, and commercial complexes each which create and promote awareness about the use of yellow bags (manjapai) as an alternative to plastics bags.

Strangely though, the yellow bag dispensers that were inaugurated in the Vellore district have gone missing.

“This has resulted in a piquant situation where on one hand the government advocates the use of cloth bags on the other hand there are no dispensers to provide the bags,” said Kumari, a housewife from Katpadi.

When a farmers’ delegation visited Chennai a few days ago to felicitate new incumbents in some departments they found a cloth bag dispenser in the State Pollution Control Board office.

“What is the use of keeping it here when it should be placed in a location where the public congregates,” asked S Udayakumar, general secretary, Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam.

Though there are three Uzhavar Santhais in Vellore at Kagithapattarai, Vellore town, and at Gandhinagar, none of them have a cloth bag dispenser, said Janardhanan, a teacher in Gandhinagar.

Only the Uzhavar Santhai at Ranipet has a dispenser that supplies cloth bags made by a local self-help group.

“As there are no cloth bag dispensers in Vellore it pushes the public to opt for plastic bags and hence the government is responsible for this,” said a local who refused to identify himself.

“Starting a scheme and then failing to continue it has not changed yet, even though governments have changed,” said a social activist from Tirupattur.

“This is similar to several other schemes which evoke little response even after submission of hundreds of petitions,” he added.