Srinagar: The city's Sunday market is known as a place where shoppers can easily pick up items at lower prices and with plenty of choice, but it turns messy in the evening when the entire stretch from TRC to Lal Chowk is filled with massive leftover polythene bags.

The environmental cost is unbearable for a fragile city, as its waste-disposal system is already under stress at the Achan dumping ground.
Even the human resources in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) get stretched, as its ground staff, the next day, which is Monday, are engaged in cleaning and clearing the heart of the city of this polythene menace from the road.
“It’s shocking to see piles of polythene covers, bags, sheets, leftover material lying in the main city centre with no action being taken by SMC against the vendors who hardly care about the impact of polythene on the city environment,” argues Manzoor Ahmad Shah, a resident.
His assertion is echoed by scores of senior citizens who go on morning walk from TRC to Residency Road via Pologround or to Lal Chowk.
“Why doesn’t the SMC ask the vendors to own this polythene by imposing a ban on the use of polythene in Srinagar or charge them for throwing it on the road every Sunday without any remorse,” said Muhammad Akram, a 62-year-old who regularly takes morning strolls.
Citing Leh, the senior citizens told this correspondent that people there are cooperating with the total ban on polythene and asked why the SMC or NC government can't replicate it in Srinagar.
“Leh is a lesson for Srinagar, and the SMC must act fast before this menace takes a toll on the fragile environs of the city,” urges Akram, who has witnessed a similar mess every Sunday in the city centre for years.
According to experts, non-biodegradable waste and poor waste management can cause a series of environmental hazards, including safety risks and choked drains in Srinagar.
“Plastic is very harmful for our environment as it is not a biodegradable thing. Recycling plastic is very expensive, which is why it is not practised in most parts of the world,” he said, adding that plastic does not melt down easily, and its reuse for a long time is not practical. Consequently, plastic pollutes the environment.