Rajahmundry: As
the state imposed ban on sale of tobacco products like khaini, pan
masala and others containing either tobacco or nicotine as main
ingredients, the sellers are selling such products by dubious means
under different names claiming to be 100 per cent tobacco-free products
to evade the vigil of the law enforcing authorities and to make good
money in East Godavari district.
Acting on a tip-off from the railway parcel authorities about a consignment of tobacco products arrived from Visakhapatnam to Rajahmundry, the food safety authorities carried out search operation and found several sachets of khaini bundled in a pack with a label passed on it claiming to be a product of Raja Premium Tobacco. The product is manufactured by a Delhi-based firm M/s Lokenath Prasad Gupta while Visakhapatnam-based wholesale firm Deepa Traders is supplying to the retailers based on their indent.
The huge consignment having 1,000 boxes stored in a residential area near ILTD Junction was seized by the food safety authorities here on Thursday. Each box contains 21 sachets of khaini and each sachet contains six grams of khaini to be sold at Rs 3.
The authorities maintain that the market value of the seized material will between Rs 3.5-4 lakhs. They booked a case under the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 section 30 (2) (a) against Deepa Traders sales in-charge D. Krishna Rao and its proprietor Sridhar. The authorities have collected samples of the product and they will be sent for analysis to the food analyst at state food laboratory in Hyderabad.
If the product contains tobacco, the case will be taken up at the joint collector’s court for adjudication and the trader will be penalised. The authorities seized five bundles of similar stocks at SVG Market of Pidimgoyyi panchayat near the city on May 27 and booked the trader Jyothi Enterprises.
The food safety authorities express concern by saying that the manufacturers of such products are supplying them with false claims on their labels to evade the law. Food inspector B.V.S.R.K. Prasad said, “We are going to step up vigil to keep a tab on transport and sale of such banned tobacco products. We will write a letter to the railway authorities to keep a check on transport of such products.”
Acting on a tip-off from the railway parcel authorities about a consignment of tobacco products arrived from Visakhapatnam to Rajahmundry, the food safety authorities carried out search operation and found several sachets of khaini bundled in a pack with a label passed on it claiming to be a product of Raja Premium Tobacco. The product is manufactured by a Delhi-based firm M/s Lokenath Prasad Gupta while Visakhapatnam-based wholesale firm Deepa Traders is supplying to the retailers based on their indent.
The huge consignment having 1,000 boxes stored in a residential area near ILTD Junction was seized by the food safety authorities here on Thursday. Each box contains 21 sachets of khaini and each sachet contains six grams of khaini to be sold at Rs 3.
The authorities maintain that the market value of the seized material will between Rs 3.5-4 lakhs. They booked a case under the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 section 30 (2) (a) against Deepa Traders sales in-charge D. Krishna Rao and its proprietor Sridhar. The authorities have collected samples of the product and they will be sent for analysis to the food analyst at state food laboratory in Hyderabad.
If the product contains tobacco, the case will be taken up at the joint collector’s court for adjudication and the trader will be penalised. The authorities seized five bundles of similar stocks at SVG Market of Pidimgoyyi panchayat near the city on May 27 and booked the trader Jyothi Enterprises.
The food safety authorities express concern by saying that the manufacturers of such products are supplying them with false claims on their labels to evade the law. Food inspector B.V.S.R.K. Prasad said, “We are going to step up vigil to keep a tab on transport and sale of such banned tobacco products. We will write a letter to the railway authorities to keep a check on transport of such products.”
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