Page 66 - Plastics Nuews October 2017

IN ThE NEWS

BMC plans to use seized plastic Plastic helps make bullets for

for road repairs CRPF

he Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is ith the various application already in place
Tworking on a proposal to use plastic for road work. WPlastics is now being used to make bullets that
are considred to be less lethal. And these plastic
According to reports Civic chief Ajoy Mehta has already
bullets will be used by the CRPF in Kashmir.According
to PTI reports the CRPF has sent 21,000 rounds of
newly-developed and “less lethal” plastic bullets
to the Kashmir Valley to tackle street protests. The
bullets, developed by the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured
by the Ordnance factory based in Pune, can be fitted in
the AK series of assault rifles and will be an alternative
to the much-criticisedpellet shotguns.“Tests have
shown that these plastic bullets are less lethal. This
will reduce our dependence on pellet guns and other
non-lethal weapons used for crowd control,” CRPF
Director General (DG) R.R. Bhatnagar told PTI. He
said this will be newest less lethal ammunition the
force has introduced to tackle crowds and counter
stone-pelters in the Valley.“About 21,000 rounds have
given the go-ahead to use plastic for road repairs. The
just been sent for distribution to all our units,” the
BMC believes that this will not only help solve the city's DG said. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF),
plastic issues but also minimise the cost of road repairs. deployed in counter-insurgency and law and order
Currently, officials from the BMC's Road Department are operations in Jammu and Kashmir, had ordered for the
plastic bullets so that troops can just replace lethal
working on the plan's feasibility and the roads on which
metal bullets and use the new plastic ones.
plastic can be used. The BMC carried out a successful trial
in Dadar two years ago.
"We already have a case study of the successful use of
plastic for road work," said an official from the Road
Department, adding that they will now find a road on
which they can use plastic as the primary material.
Recently, the BMC's Markets Department decided to
auction the over 6,000 kg of plastic bags seized by them
over the past few years which are currently stored in their
godown. Before the auction, the BMC will shred all the
plastic bags to prevent their reuse. Mr. Bhatnagar said both 47 and 56, the AK series of
rifles, are used by the CRPF units deployed in the
Since the civic body already has a stock of plastic, the
Kashmir Valley. The bullets have been prepared in such
option of using it for road work is being explored. "As we a calibre that it fits the barrel, he added. “As soon
anyway have to destroy these plastics to prevent further as a crowd or stone pelting incident is encountered,
reuse, we can use them for road repairs instead," said the troops just need to change the bullets and fire,”
the DG said
the official.

Plastics News | Octob er 2017 66