Although gutkha has been banned in 23 Indian states, its illegal sale
continues. Moreover, it is now sold at much higher rates. The Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra recently seized gutkha worth Rs 27
lakh from Navi Mumbai.
Its counterpart in Uttar Pradesh followed suit, raiding a adulterated gutkha factory in the Barra area of Kanpur. About Rs 20 lakh worth of raw material, besides machines and other things which are used to make the products were seized from the place. Six people named Ravi Jaiswal, Hari Shankar Gupta, Bablu, Arvind and Rahul Jaiswal were nabbed from the premises.
The rampant illegal sale of gutkha in these states highlights the fact that the implementation of the ban is not strict. It is often seen that on long-distance trains, packets of gutkha worth Rs 2 are sold at Rs 10. There is no one to check the sale of illegal gutkha on the trains.
Mahesh Zagade, commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra, said, “Maharashtra is the only state in the country to destroy gutkha worth Rs 10 crore. In other states, the implementation has not been done strictly. The seizure of gutkha worth Rs 27 lakh on the Sion-Panvel highway confirms that the contraband is still being sold in the market.”
He informed, “This was the third big seizure of the contraband in two months on the highway. It is believed that the contraband is generally transported from Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and sold here at four or five times the price.”
Gutkha has been banned in Bihar for a year now, but it is still sold there illegally without any action against the culprits. In fact, it was the third state in the country to ban the sale, distribution and manufacture of gutkha and pan masala containing nicotine.
However, while the administration gears up to put a system in place to effectively implement the order, these products are still being sold in a clandestine manner in the state.
Sanjay Kumar, food safety commissioner and health secretary, Bihar FDA, said, “The implementation is not being followed strictly because of the shortage of manpower. But soon, there would be 22 state food safety officers and teams with police personnel as members would be formed. They would conduct raids in their respective areas across the state to stop both the organised and unorganised sector from manufacturing, storing, selling or distributing pan masala and gutkha.”
Its counterpart in Uttar Pradesh followed suit, raiding a adulterated gutkha factory in the Barra area of Kanpur. About Rs 20 lakh worth of raw material, besides machines and other things which are used to make the products were seized from the place. Six people named Ravi Jaiswal, Hari Shankar Gupta, Bablu, Arvind and Rahul Jaiswal were nabbed from the premises.
The rampant illegal sale of gutkha in these states highlights the fact that the implementation of the ban is not strict. It is often seen that on long-distance trains, packets of gutkha worth Rs 2 are sold at Rs 10. There is no one to check the sale of illegal gutkha on the trains.
Mahesh Zagade, commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra, said, “Maharashtra is the only state in the country to destroy gutkha worth Rs 10 crore. In other states, the implementation has not been done strictly. The seizure of gutkha worth Rs 27 lakh on the Sion-Panvel highway confirms that the contraband is still being sold in the market.”
He informed, “This was the third big seizure of the contraband in two months on the highway. It is believed that the contraband is generally transported from Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and sold here at four or five times the price.”
Gutkha has been banned in Bihar for a year now, but it is still sold there illegally without any action against the culprits. In fact, it was the third state in the country to ban the sale, distribution and manufacture of gutkha and pan masala containing nicotine.
However, while the administration gears up to put a system in place to effectively implement the order, these products are still being sold in a clandestine manner in the state.
Sanjay Kumar, food safety commissioner and health secretary, Bihar FDA, said, “The implementation is not being followed strictly because of the shortage of manpower. But soon, there would be 22 state food safety officers and teams with police personnel as members would be formed. They would conduct raids in their respective areas across the state to stop both the organised and unorganised sector from manufacturing, storing, selling or distributing pan masala and gutkha.”
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