Tirupur : With the total ban on disposable plastics in place from January 1 across the State, the demand for the age-old cloth bags fondly known as the “Manajappai” by the common people is on the rise, considering that units in Tirupur are laboring around the clock preparing these bags in thousands.
Tirupur : With the total ban on disposable plastics in place from January 1 across the State, the demand for the age-old cloth bags fondly known as the “Manajappai” by the common people is on the rise, considering that units in Tirupur are laboring around the clock preparing these bags in thousands.
Common people and businessmen who scrambled for an alternative to plastic bags when confronted with the comprehensive ban of 18 items of plastics, zeroed in on the once ubiquitous 'Manjappai' which has resurrected back into the marketplace in style. Indeed, the age-old “Manajappai” has come to the rescue of the common man as these bags prepared in different sizes and shapes proved handy as an alternative for a visit to the nearby grocery shop.
“Even ready-made units and hosiery units have taken orders to prepare cloth bags for shopkeepers as orders kept pouring in, with workers now on the job, day and night," said a hosiery unit owner in Tirupur. “The bags are prepared using raw cotton material (khada) and can last long, unlike the harmful plastic bags.
Bags which are sold for Rs.6 and above can be purchased and used many times over by the consumers,” say the Tiruppur unit workers. “Due to the good flow of work orders, the labour force has also benefited since they now get regular work and pay," opined the workers who have been stitching away cloth bags in a unit in Tirupur. The 'Manjappai' thus has made a regal comeback displacing harmful plastics.