'Use of jute low despite law'
Although a 2010 law makes mandatory the use of jute in packaging food and agricultural products, only five percent of total production of jute is being used for this purpose, speakers said at a press conference yesterday.
At the time of the law's enactment, the government had said that if the law was implemented, around 60 percent jute of the country would be used, they said. But the government could not enforce the act till date, they added.
The speakers urged the government to take necessary steps to enforce the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010 to bring back the glorious past of jute through quitting the use of non-degradable elements like plastic and polythene packets, which are harmful for the environment.
They demanded strict enforcement of the law to help flourish jute cultivation, preservation, and trading, as livelihood of about three crore people is directly and indirectly linked with it. If the law is enforced, it would also save the environment from the harms of polythene and plastic packets, they said.
Nagorik Songhoti, a social organisation, and Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL), an alliance of 250 non-government organisations, jointly organised the press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) yesterday.
General secretary of Nagorik Songhoti Sarifuzzaman Sarif read out a written statement while coordinator of Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad Dr Wajedul Islam Khan addressed the programme, among others.
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