THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even after clear-cut instructions from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to District Collectors for a total ban on national flags made out of plastic, the sale of the plastic flags is continuing unperturbed in the city.The ban was recommended citing that the flags are carelessly discarded after use. Discarding the national flags is considered a violation of the Indian Flag Code of 2002 and as an act of irreverence.The national flags made of plastic are sold by street vendors along the Kowdiar-Vellayambalam road near the Raj Bhavan and in front of Kanakakkunnu Palace. Most of those who are engaged in selling the flags are teenagers hailing from the city suburbs.According to the vendors, the flags were manufactured at a private press located near Parassala.‘‘The sales are picking up. Police officers are also turning up in large numbers for buying the flags,” said a street vendor stationed near the Raj Bhavan. But the administration has no inkling of what is going on under its nose. District Collector P M Francis admitted that he had received a directive from the State Government saying that there should be a check on the use of plastic flags, which are trampled by the public after use.‘‘Police had conducted raids on the places where national flags are sold, but did not find any hint of the plastic product,“ he said.
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