The production and distribution of gutkha and pan masala continues in Karnataka, which poses a major threat to the implementation of the ban orders in Anantapur and Kurnool districts that share a long border with it and that is a major challenge, according to J. Rammohan, Additional Superintendent of Police of the Special Enforcement Bureau.
The responsibility of checking transport, sale, storage or these banned products was given to the SEB recently and with Monday’s orders extending the ban for one more year, a bigger responsibility is on the sleuths, he said, pointing out that since May 2020, the district SEB registered 1,136 cases arresting 1,350 persons. Tumkur in Karnataka is the key source of production and distribution for all cases registered in Anantapur.
Mr. Rammohan said there was no ban on these products in northern States. The printed value of the gutkha packets and other banned products seized was found to be ₹1.19 crore, while its sale value in the market was a minimum of 10 times and goes up to 20 times in some places, he explained.
The majority of the consignments cross the Karnataka border into Kurnool and Anantapur in the guise of transporting the material to northern State, or Telangana and in that process, 248 vehicles were seized. The Act, however, does not provide sufficient teeth to provide stringent punishment, and bail is given easily, the SEB officer pointed out
