Stubborn stains fade a shade - Responsible citizens switch to paan on Day One of ban, but gutkha prices soar in black market

Some voluntarily munched paan, some grudgingly bit into betel nuts and yet others scoured black markets for their habitual quota of nicotine kick — the state’s blanket ban on gutkha was only partially successful on Thursday, the first day of its implementation. Armed with the new Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 — which was implemented in Jharkhand in January this year — the health and family welfare department had issued a notification in newspapers in Ranchi on Wednesday, banning production, storage, distribution and sale of gutkha from July 26. The ban also included paan masala of various brands that contain nicotine. It had also made a fervent appeal to citizens to stop chewing the tobacco mix, one of the key reasons of a 30 per cent increase in oral cancer cases in Jharkhand in six years. The plea, which came with the penalty sting of Rs 25,000 or a jail term of seven to 10 years in case of violation, did not completely fall on deaf ears. Some vendors in the capital refused to sell gutkha even to regular customers, while some avaricious ones made last-ditch attempts to exhaust their existing stock by selling pouches at 50 per cent to 75 per cent more than the printed price. In Jamshedpur, the banned items sold at double the price. “I did not get a pouch of gutkha. Even the paan masala on sale is the one without even a trace of tobacco. I decided to switch to paan,” Sanjay Singh, who deals in stationery items at Saheed Chowk, Ranchi, said. Sudhir Barnwal, who runs a shop for mouth freshners at Albert Ekka Chowk, said the ban had not affected their earnings. “Every day, I used to sell gutkha pouches worth Rs 400. After it was banned, I was worried about my income. But fortunately, people are opting for paan and I won’t suffer losses,” he said. Not everyone was as respectful to the law as Singh and Barnwal. A youth at Albert Ekka Chowk was found striking a hard bargain for 10 pouches of tobacco sprinkled paan masala. “You sell a pouch for Rs 2, I am ready to pay Rs 3 for each. Please arrange for at least 10 pouches,” he was overheard requesting the vendor. The latter was smarter. He was unwilling to part with his newfound treasure at anything less than Rs 3.50 a pouch. “Selling gutkha is risky now. If I am caught, I will have to pay Rs 25,000. Or may even be sent to jail. You have to pay me more,” he reasoned. Dilip Kumar, the owner of Shree Zarda Store at Saheed Chowk, said such bargains would continue only till stocks last. “After that there will be no chance of getting gutkha even in the black market. People can chew paan, which anyway is a better substitute.” In Jamshedpur, both violations and violators were more brazen. Rajesh Yadav (38), a security guard at an apartment in Bistupur, was found staining the government’s image with tobacco laced paan masala. “I know about the ban. It is in the newspaper, but I did not face any problem in getting my brand of paan masala,” he said with an I-don’t-care attitude. He, however, added that if gutkha and paan masala vanish from the market, he would switch to betel leaves. Bikram Singh (25), a resident of Kadma, agreed. “If shops stop selling gutkha, we will stop consuming,” he said. Vendor Ayodhya Mahto Sakchi Market said the authorities should first target manufacturers and wholesalers. “Why hurt poor shopkeepers. I feel this will give powerful people like the police another opportunity to harass us,” he added. Despite violations here and there, state food controller T.P. Barnwal expressed satisfaction over imposition of the ban. “On the first day, we do not have information of sale of gutkha anywhere. None of our officials across the state have reported seizure or imposition of fines,” he asserted.