Staff Correspondent
Port Blair, Oct 30: It was the commitment of the then Lt. Governor on the occasion of the birthday of the father of the Nation on 2nd Oct 2012 that there will be total ban on all chewable tobacco products Gutka, Khainee, Zarda etc, but the Administration imposed a ban on retail sale for only a period of one year on 1st Nov 2012 for a period of one year.
Subsequently on September 2013 the authority issued a ban for all chewable tobacco products in any form including Zarda (retail wholesale and manufacturing) only to be withdrawn in 10 days and a fresh notification was issued on 2nd Nov 2013 that the sale of Gutka is prohibited for one year from 1st Nov 2013 and which would automatically expire its validity on 31st Oct 2014.
The Administration needs to clarify whether consumptions of Gutka Zarda would cause mouth cancers from 1st Nov 2014 onwards or not since there was only a partial ban on retail sale by pan shops where a mixture of Zarda with pan was prohibited.
With the partial ban one could consume Zarda by purchasing the whole Zarda Tin Can and take whenever he wants and the children at home can emulate eating Zarda pan as now it is available as whole Tin Can.
It seems only Gutka causes oral cancer not eating Zarda or Kakaz pan since the Administration last year withdrew Zarda ban within 10 days of its publications.
With the ban on Gutka products now the actual sale of Zarda increased bringing bale bale to Zarda wholesalers.
Just think who cares for the sick, when Zarda Tycoons recording business worth crores in Andaman.
Supreme Court has directed Central government and state government to ban all chewable tobacco products. The central government had filed affidavit in Supreme Court that the diseases caused due to Tobacco outnumber the revenue generated from Tobacco.
In July the health ministry wrote to all state and UT to ban effectively all Chewable tobacco products its manufacturing distribution and sale etc. But in Andaman we have a different law, it seems.
