Shillong: Meghalaya has tried not once or twice but repeatedly to ban plastic carry bags but the effort has failed miserably. As a result every drain, stream and river are filled with plastic bags and plastic packages which contain a variety of junk food such as potato chips which are laden with trans-fat but which the younger generation is addicted to.

Environmentalists despair about the manner in which drains get choked and rivers are polluted by garbage which comprises mainly plastic bags and packages of different shapes and sizes. When these are clogged over a long period they emit methane gas which scientists say poisons the environment.