Mumbai plastic ban: City's bakery owners fear they'll be driven out of business

As the city grapples with the blanket plastic ban it is the standalone establishment catering to the middleclass population that seems to have been worst hit Farsan marts and bakeries fall into this bracket as a major chunk of their stock from chiwda to fafda biscuits and cheese straws used to be packed in plastic Now confusion and frustration seem to have taken over both sides of the counterAmerican Express Bakery Bandra and BycullaThis longstanding bakery switched to brown paper bags about a year ago and Yvan Carvalho fourthgeneration owner of the bakery tells us We are not facing any problems with the ban because most of our patrons bring their own bags As manufacturers we are allowed to package breads and cookies in plastic We need to ensure that breads and cookies dont go stale Carvalho saidCustomer speakNazir GilaniBusinessmanEveryone is having problems with the ban because of habit whereas earlier we all used to carry cloth bagsA1 Bakery BandraFamous for their baked products sweet buns and fried food A1 bakery is now faced with a polypropylene conundrum The manager on the condition of anonymity told us We are using paper and butter paper now and stopped using plastic two weeks ago But there is still a lot of confusion about the whole banCustomer speakGinny SachdevRestaurateurI support the plastic ban but I am not too happy with the hasty way in which it is being imposedCity Bakery WorliAt City Bakery at Worli staff was seen wrapping and sometimes doublewrapping pav bread in newspaper while a customer was struggling to fit everything into the cloth bag Jafar Dashti partner City Bakery said Plastic should be allowed at the packing stage Our customers are complaining that they have to rush home and put the rusk in an airtight bottle like in the old days Dashti said small establishments find it difficult to give out paper bags We simply cannot afford itCustomer speakAnand BhadekarVile Parle residentThe plastic ban is a good thing People must remember to carry cloth bags The products are fine in butter paper but I am aware that not everybody is happyShalimar Bakers and Confectioners VersovaJabir Baig 47 the iconic bakerys manager laconically dismisses the plastic ban This plan will not succeed Its difficult for us to wrap farsan biscuits and cookies in paper especially now in the rains because they become soggy My customers keep complaining often when there are more than two to three items and I cant provide a bag they cancel the order We need an alternative he saidCustomer speakZahida KhanRestaurateurIts ok that plastic bags are banned but it should be allowed for packaging I support the ban but it shouldnt make things for economicallybackward shopkeepers and shop owners difficultParis Bakery Dhobi TalaoDanesh Irani managing partner at Paris Bakery said We are telling people that you can buy this only if you have an oven at home Irani said they are wrapping maska khari khari biscuits cheese paapdi cheese straws in butter paper but items were getting soggy Every product in my bakery is affected We are manufacturers so we should be allowed plastic at the manufacturing stage Why doesnt PM Narendra Modi intervene he asked irritablyCustomer speakNozer BhamgaraDhobi Talao residentI have been buying from Paris bakery for 20 years The butter paper has made the cheese straws and papdi biscuit soft They should be allowed to pack in thicker reusable plasticKothari Sweets MulundThe ban on plastic bags is okay but what about containers Nobody is going to carry steel containers from home At our store for those buying unpacked fresh farsan we are now serving it in butter paper bags which absorb the oil and makes the farsan soggy We are also having trouble storing stock We had to throw away 30kg of farsan recently says Nisha Anam partner in picCustomer speakKalpana ChindarkarThe ban is a great initiative for the next generation Yes farsan does become soggy in paper but we just need to find the right alternativeNayaks Sweets MatungaThe sweet boxes are made of paper and we have stopped giving plastic bags As soon as we get to know of alternatives we will use it The biggest problem is that there is no clarity on what is legal and what isnt says Gururaj Shetty managerCustomer speakAshit VaidyaIts a great policy if followed strictly We never used plastic bags in our childhood so theres no harm in bringing back that timeAlso readMumbai plastic ban Traders shut shop protest governments sudden crackdown