Gutkha lobby gulps as UP bares teeth

Many shops in Nayaganj and units at Dadanagar in Kanpur have been lying closed ever since Saturday when police began the raids.

‘‘We should’ve been given enough time to wind up our operations. We weren’t given even a day’s notice. What will we do with our stock?’’ says Arvind Jain, owner of a paan masala unit in Kanpur.

Strictly told not to sell gutkha and paan masala pouches, even paan shop owners have fallen in line.

But some customers say that instead of displaying them openly, the paan sellers are now stocking pouches in secret places and still selling them.

Chief Secretary D.S. Bagga, who held a meeting with senior health officials after the court order, insists: ‘‘There is no point of a rethink on the issue after the order from the HC.’’

The government is showing more initiative to implement the order than it did the last time when it decided to ban smoking in public places following a Supreme Court directive.

This doesn’t please the multi-crore paan masala manufacturing industry, which is mainly concentrated in Kanpur and Noida and which plans to challenge the court order.

Many among them allege it is the Indian Tobacco Company that is behind the ban as it had been lobbying for this for a long time.

‘‘Gutkha with a smattering of tobacco is harmful and cigarette with 100-per cent tobacco is not?’’ they ask.

Kanpur is credited with introducing the entire country to the paan masala culture. At present, there are around 500 units engaged in the trade in the town.