Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Tuesday launched a massive drive against the use of plastic carry bags in the city.

Led by Gautam Deb, chairperson of the board of administrators (BoA) at the civic body and Ranjan Sarkar, a member of the BoA, civic officials carried out the drive at Bidhan Market, the largest market.

They alerted shopkeepers to dissuade them from using plastic carry bags and seized such bags from a number of shops and stalls.

The civic team visited stalls of fish, fruit and vegetables, grocery and stationery stores. Over 40kg of plastic carry bags were seized.

In recent times, this is the first drive of this kind by the civic body in the city.

A few years back, the National Green Tribunal had specifically ordered a complete ban on use of plastic carry bags across Darjeeling district. However, some in Siliguri started flouting the ban.

“The NGT imposed a complete ban on the use of plastic carry bags in Siliguri. We are implementing the ban through this drive. It is necessary for environment reasons. During the drive, we clearly told the business community not to use plastic bags or else fines would be imposed,” said Deb.

A shopkeeper found using plastic carry bags will be fined Rs 500 while other persons found with such bags will have to pay a penalty of Rs 50, SMC sources said.

“It is a continuous process. We will use public address systems to inform shop-owners and people in general on the issue. If required, we will conduct raids in places from where such bags are sold in the local market. People should use alternative items like paper and jute bags,” Deb said.