West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday saidher government had decided to formally ban the online lottery and a notification would be issued soon.
“Online Lotto began during the Left Front regime. There were fights between family members over it. It has anyway ceased but I’m officially announcing a ban as we have in the case of gutka,” she told journalists at the State Secretariat here.
“There were some television channels that had started advertising such a lottery. One has the freedom to move the court challenging the ban but I have nothing to say in that regard,” Ms. Banerjee said.
Food adulteration
The Chief Minister spoke out against adulteration in certain food items, saying the State’s enforcement directorate was instructed to identity those responsible behind adding colour to vegetables, which results in health hazards.
The price of chicken was hiked here and some other places by unscrupulous traders, and the Animal Resources Department was asked to set up fair price shops to help consumers, she said.
Ms. Banerjee said her government was working towards self-sufficiency in agricultural produce such as onion and ginger. As for meeting the deficit in supply and demand for fish, a research centre for Hilsa — a popular variety — is being envisaged. Fresh water reservoirs for pisciculture were also being considered, she said.
