The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association on Wednesday strongly opposed the ban imposed by the Maharashtra government on plastic bags and said the entire trading community would come together to protest against the move.

• Maharashtra bans plastic bags

The ban on plastic bags was announced on Wednesday by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

"Earlier, the ban was on plastic bags having thickness less than 20 microns, which was absolutely necessary, but banning all kinds of plastic bags is totally uncalled for and we oppose this move strongly," Federation Joint Secretary Viren Shah said in a release here.

Many shopkeepers stock plastic bags six months in advance and a sudden ban like this will cause lot of problems for shopkeepers. Looking at the Indian environment, especially during heavy monsoon season which prevails about three months plastic bags are very essential, Shah said.