Despite imposition of a ban on uses of Polythene, hazardous polythene bags are rapidly making a comeback in the markets as some unscrupulous businessmen are still manufacturing and selling this item under the very nose of law enforcing agencies.

In the city's kitchen markets like Karwan Bazar, New market and Farmgate, traders and consumers are using polythene bags openly. Especially the fish traders are using them.

The main production area and wholesale market of polythene bags include Lalbagh, Chwakbazar, Begumbazar, Mukimkatra, Nimtoli, Imamganj, Islambagh, Sutrapur, Shya-mpur, Kamrangirchar and Moulovibazar in old part of Dhaka, which supply to the retailers in the city. A huge fraction of the production also goes out of the city to the rest of the districts.

Talking to the Bangladesh Today, a whole seller of kitchen market at Karwan Bazar admitting the fact said, "Though we know that the government has imposed a ban on selling polythene bags, but as no alternative product is yet to developed, so most of the customers use polythene bags for carrying goods. We are just buying it from markets as it is still available in all markets. We have to provide it for running our business."

When asked whether the law enforcing agency raid factories during manufacturing and marketing polybags to the wholesalers, a poly bag manufacturer of Chawkbazar said "we are always in panic as police may conduct raid anytime, but in the last two years, we did not have such experience."

A worker of wholesale store of polybag at Karwan Bazar said "My owner often goes to the police station but I don't know why he goes there? It seems to me that he goes there to maintain secret deal with police."

When this correspondent visited city's different kitchen market it was seen that under the very nose of authority concerned, manufacturers of polythene bags are making profits as shopkeepers and customers especially in the kitchen markets are invigorating its use.

A homemaker said "I always carry a bag to the kitchen market but sometimes I need a few polythene bags as prices of jute made bags are higher than polybags. Even, recently the price of jute bags has gone up drastically."

However, as a non-biodeg-radable environmental hazard, polythene has already wreaked havoc on public sanitation. In January 2002, the government imposed the ban on polythene in Dhaka city and then elsewhere. Maximum penalty fixed for manufacturing polythene shopping bag is 10-year rigorous imprisonment or a maximum fine of Tk 10 lakh.