ISLAMABAD-The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration has distributed 10,000 more cotton bags among the visitors here at a shopping mall, aimed at creating awareness about the harmful use of polythene bags.
Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul along with Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat distributed the bags with the support of JS bank under the Prime Minister’s ‘Clean and Green Pakistan Movement,’ the ICT spokesman said on Friday.
Around 20,000 more bags would also be distributed in upcoming days in rural areas of the city to discourage the use of plastic bags among the masses, he added.
Talking to APP, the deputy commissioner urged the capital dwellers to abandon the use of polythene shoppers and adopt eco-friendly bags to make this campaign successful.
He said “People use plastic bags without knowing its repercussions that how it affects the whole ecosystem badly for next 500 years.”
Nearly 50 per cent of the shopkeepers in Islamabad have welcomed the ban but the administration was also facing resistance at some places, Shafqaat added.
Answering a query, he said that alongside the regular checks on shops, the city administration was also holding awareness seminars and distributing free cloth bags to encourage the use of cotton bags.