Poking about the tide of plastic carry-bags belched back by the sea, Khaire said the government would also have to consider a ban on the manufacture of these bags, which are an environmental hazard.

The minister, accompanied by local corporator Vishaka Raut, was invited to the seashore by local residents, who have borne the brunt of Mumbai's callous and wanton use of plastic bags and Nature's stubborn refusal to allow it for several years. The problem has grown more acute since the last five years and the monsoon only exacerbates the menace, residents say. Khaire's statement today is the first from the state government on the proposed ban on plastic carry-bags sought by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is due todiscuss the issue shortly. Council member in charge of solid waste management, Subhash Sawant, says the BMC has prepared a proposal urging the government to impose a ban and it will be submitted before the Mayor-in-Council soon.

Mumbai churns out 2.5 tonnes of plastic garbage daily, with plastic bags comprising a significant quantum of the trash. Khaire told Express Newsline that a ban on carry-bags is inevitable as they are non-biodegradable and cannot be recycled. ``To ensure that the ban works, the manufacture of these bags will also have to be banned,'' he said. Responding to the residents' entreaties, Raut ordered the municipal ward office to remove the beach's plastic cover at once.

The five-kilometre stretch is used as a playground for want of other open spaces in the vicinity. Jay Kawle, joint secretary of the Maharashtra Amateur Boxing Association and a local resident, pointed out that kabbadi, boxing and kho-kho players from Kirti College as well as local youth regularly use the beachfor practice. State-level cricket and hockey players use it as well. ``Though the waste is cleared away regularly, the sea brings back more of it during high tide,'' Kawle points out. When Khaire's attention was drawn to stray cows nosing around the garbage, he agreed that the lives of cattle are also endangered by the plastic menace.

A speedy solution is imperative, he said. And yes, the government will look into all the details and impose a ban at the earliest.