Thieves in some villages in Shivamogga district are not so much into jewellery these days. They have set their sights on a new “valuable” — arecanut.
With the shooting price of arecanut — from Rs. 130 a kg in May 2013 to Rs. 460 a kg today — many habitual offenders involved in house burglary and vehicle lifting have now turned to stealing arecanut.
The district police have arrested nine persons since the beginning of this year in connection with arecanut theft and have seized arecanut worth Rs. 19 lakh.
B.A. Ramesh Hegde, president of Shivamogga Arecanut Growers’ Association, told The Hindu that the problem can be solved by initiating stern action against those who purchase arecanut from thieves. The stolen arecanut is purchased by the traders by paying less than 50 per cent of the price that prevails in the market. It is necessary to book cases under Section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 413 (habitually dealing in stolen property) against such persons, he said.
He suggested that farmers should conduct de-husking and drying of arecanut at a single place in the village, and install surveillance cameras there. In addition, community-policing should be popularised in rural areas to avoid theft, he added.
Escalating prices have made it valuable
