Islamabad: Following in the footsteps of the federal capital and taking a lead among the provinces, the Sindh government has taken the first step towards complete plastic ban in the province.

In the first phase, the ban will be implemented in colleges throughout the province.

Sindh Education and Literacy Department’s notification bans the use of plastic bags in government and private colleges operating under the provincial government.

As per the notification, neither college staff — faculty members and non-teaching staff, including those working in canteens and cafeterias — nor the students or even visitors will be allowed to use plastic bags and other products in the colleges’ premises.

All Directors-General, colleges’ regional directors, officers and monitoring and evaluation directors and principals and administrators have been given the responsibility to ensure institutions comply with the education department’s orders, the notification a day earlier states.

They have also been asked to report any violations of the department’s orders.

Meanwhile, while taking part in the global march for climate change, the Sindh government also launched a drive in Karachi against smoke-emitting vehicles.

Spokesperson and Adviser to Chief Minister for Environment, Law & Coastal Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Friday monitored smoke-emitting vehicles during a drive against air pollution along with the Environment Department and traffic police.

Inaugurating the campaign at the checkpoint set up near the Metropol Hotel, the Provincial Adviser presented his own vehicle for examination and got a ‘green sticker’ for it.

Environmental Officer and Traffic Police Officer were also present on the occasion. The environmental checking team checked the smoke emitting vehicles and charged fine with challan and affixed the red stickers on the vehicles.

The adviser said that the awareness campaign against air pollution was need of the time.

The campaign has been launched from the Karachi District South and will be implemented across Karachi and the wider Sindh province. He said public and media support were needed in the campaign against pollution.

He also termed support of masses and media in campaign against the pollution very crucial.

A resident of Karachi, Fayaz Ahmed, while questioning on the Sindh government’s drive against air pollution said how [provincial] government could succeed in its drive against pollution when it could not even rid the city of thousands of tonnes of garbage. “It is nothing but a big joke,” he said. Another resident, Khalil Mirza, was of the view that the issue of garbage in Karachi was discussed even at the Supreme Court but politicians kept shifting blame on each other. The provincial government should first do that long-pending issue and then venture for any other municipal or administrative initiative, he said.