Says
will launch agitation if growers’ interest hit
Alleging that some officials of the
Union government are attempting to ban areca nut, president of the Central
Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd. (Campco) Konkodi
Padmanabha said here on Wednesday that the cooperative will continue to make
all efforts to protect the interests of growers.
He said that Campco would not allow
banning of areca nut. If situation warranted “we will come to the streets”, he
said while addressing presspersons here on Wednesday.
Mr. Padmanabha said that a
director of the National Rural Health Mission, under the Union Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare, wrote to the director of the Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India on September 6, 2013, “requesting to examine the
scientific evidences on the harmful effects of areca nut with a view to
initiating necessary action to classify areca nut as an injurious substance and
accordingly prohibit its use as ingredient in any food product”.
The copy of the letter released to
media said that a meeting chaired by the Secretary of the ministry on July 2,
2013, “… recommended that areca nut should be classified as an injurious
substance”.
Mr. Padmanabha said that it was not
sure if the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had taken any steps
based on the letter.
He said the Karnataka High Court in
its verdict in a case (The Malnad Areca Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd vs
Union of India) in 2007 had ruled that areca nut was not injurious to health.
The Union government had not challenged this order.
It was not easy to ban it as both
the Union and state governments have been supporting areca nut cultivation.
The government was also earning
revenue in its marketing. But only in the official circles there was some move
to ban it. But the Campco would protest any move to ban areca nut.
“I suspect a lobby, probably
cigarette lobby, behind this (move to ban areca nut),” he said.
A World Health Organisation report
had mentioned that the presence of alkaloids in areca nut was below 0.15 per
cent, below the permissible limit.
President of Campco Konkodi
Padmanabha said here on Wednesday a six-member team of advocates is defending
areca nut growers in the Supreme Court in a case pertaining to the Centre’s
plea before the court for passing an appropriate order to ban all kinds of gutka
.
He said the Campco was an impleader
in the case which would come up for hearing on January 6 before a new bench.
The team of advocates represent senior lawyers like Ram Jethmalani and retired
high court judge Vishwanath Shetty, he said. Gutka has 80 per cent crushed
areca nut.
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