HUBLI: The district administration will crack down on gutka manufacturers, dealers and sellers. Companies found manufacturing gutka will be penalized up to Rs 10 lakh while shops selling the product will have to forgo their licence and face legal consequences.
The administration has formed special teams consisting of health safety officers and health department officers to curb the sale of gutka in the district after the state has banned its sale. Special teams have been conducting raids and seizing gutka since a week. But now the teams will act tough penalizing violators.
The ban was a crucial step forward, but the challenge lay in its implementation. According to sources, after banning gutka products on June 1, initially, the government had not issued guidelines on how to implement the ban. But the district administration has received a clear set of guidelines on June 7 from the state government on how to deal with people who defy the ban. Based on this, the district administration chalked out a stringent action plan to act tough against gutka sellers and manufacturers, said sources.
Dr S G Babruwad, designated officer for Food Safety and Standards Authorities of India (FSSAI), said that they had initiated action against the manufacturers and sellers of the banned gutka products. We have seized more than 300 gutka sachets in the district in the past one week after conducting raids on paan-beeda shops. Shopkeepers have been warned by the team against selling the products again. We have given instruction to our teams to check each and every shop in the urban areas of Hubli-Dharwad and in all the taluks in the district,'' he added.
The state government has issued clear directions that the seized products should not be disposed unethically. Some districts are said to have burned gutka sachets in open places. As gutka consists tobacco and nicotine, it that cannot be disposed in open place. The authorities have been told to follow the bio-metric waste disposal method to dispose the seized products.
Safety Act
Authorities will initiate action under section 57, 58 and 59 of Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. Under this act, authorities can seize, or cancel the licence and registration of the shop or manufacturing companies.
The administration has formed special teams consisting of health safety officers and health department officers to curb the sale of gutka in the district after the state has banned its sale. Special teams have been conducting raids and seizing gutka since a week. But now the teams will act tough penalizing violators.
The ban was a crucial step forward, but the challenge lay in its implementation. According to sources, after banning gutka products on June 1, initially, the government had not issued guidelines on how to implement the ban. But the district administration has received a clear set of guidelines on June 7 from the state government on how to deal with people who defy the ban. Based on this, the district administration chalked out a stringent action plan to act tough against gutka sellers and manufacturers, said sources.
Dr S G Babruwad, designated officer for Food Safety and Standards Authorities of India (FSSAI), said that they had initiated action against the manufacturers and sellers of the banned gutka products. We have seized more than 300 gutka sachets in the district in the past one week after conducting raids on paan-beeda shops. Shopkeepers have been warned by the team against selling the products again. We have given instruction to our teams to check each and every shop in the urban areas of Hubli-Dharwad and in all the taluks in the district,'' he added.
The state government has issued clear directions that the seized products should not be disposed unethically. Some districts are said to have burned gutka sachets in open places. As gutka consists tobacco and nicotine, it that cannot be disposed in open place. The authorities have been told to follow the bio-metric waste disposal method to dispose the seized products.
Safety Act
Authorities will initiate action under section 57, 58 and 59 of Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. Under this act, authorities can seize, or cancel the licence and registration of the shop or manufacturing companies.
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