The government will launch strict drives countrywide against the production and marketing of banned polythene bags with the coordinated involvement of law enforcement agencies, environmental officials, and local administration.
Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan made the announcement during an interministerial meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Secretariat on Thursday.
“Those involved in the banned polythene trade will no longer be spared,” she said, stressing that the drives would be rigorous and continuous.
The meeting was presided over by Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and attended by representatives from police, RAB, army, and city corporations.
It was decided that the crackdown will target every stage of illegal polythene activity — including production, import, sale, storage, distribution, and transport.
The environment adviser underlined the need for a coordinated action plan, involving all branches of government, law enforcement, and the general public to combat environmental pollution.
Senior officials from both the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Home Affairs, along with top security officials, pledged full support for the upcoming drives.
Among the attendees were Home Ministry Senior Secretary Nasimul Ghani, Additional Secretary Khandaker Mahbubur Rahman, Environment Additional Secretary Dr Fahmida Khanom, and Director General of the Department of Environment Md Kamruzzaman.
RAB ADG (Operations) Colonel Iftekhar Ahmed, Azimpur Army Camp Commander Lt Col. Nahid-uz-Zaman Khan, RAB-10 Commander Mohammad Kamruzzaman, and DMP Additional Commissioners Nazrul Islam and Faruq Ahmed were also present.
Other participants included Dhaka South City Corporation’s Chief Waste Management Officer Air Commodore Md Mahbubur Rahman Talukdar, Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Tanvir Ahmed, and Lalbagh DMP Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Jasim Uddin.
In a show of early enforcement, a mobile court on Thursday filed a case and seized banned polythene from an illegal operation in Kishoreganj.
On the same day, a manufacturing unit in Araihazar upazila of Narayanganj was raided, its power connection severed, and electric meter confiscated.
The Ministry of Environment said the campaign will continue until full compliance with the polythene ban is achieved.