GUWAHATI: Six trucks, smuggling dry areca nuts from Myanmar, were burnt down in Mizoram’s Mamit district by miscreants on Saturday. The incident occurred between Zawlnuam and Zamuang villages.
Superintendent of Police Lalthangpuii Pulamte said nobody was injured.
“We haven’t been able to identify the ones transporting the products. We also haven’t been able to ascertain where the vehicles were destined to,” the SP said.
The smuggled areca nut trade thrives in India at the cost of local growers. Two days ago, Mizoram MP K Vanlalvena raised the issue in Parliament. He had insisted the smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar needed to be stopped.
“I kindly request the Indian government to not be confused. Our own areca product and foreign areca product are two different things. Foreign areca product is dry. Our native product is fresh,” the MP had said.
Vanlalvena said the areca nut growers in Mizoram were facing a lot of hardships after failing to transport their products outside the state. He lauded the central government for its various measures against smuggling.
The areca nut growers in Mizoram as well as Tripura expressed anguish that their products, transported in trucks, are often seized by the police and other agencies in Assam, due to their inability to distinguish between homegrown areca nuts and the smuggled products.
Earlier, the Home Ministry had reportedly issued instructions to crack down on trucks smuggling areca nuts.
Last month, areca nut growers in Mizoram staged a protest for several days against the government’s failure to address their plight.