The proposed ban on gutkha by the newly-elected Congress government has cast a pall of gloom over the areca-growing regions.
Farmers, plantation workers and merchants fear a steep fall in prices and a consequent trickle-down impact on the economy.
The decision follows a case in the Supreme Court filed by an NGO, linking the consumption of gutkha to incidences of cancer.
Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative (CAMPCO) president Konkody Padmanabha said: “The elected representatives should think about the lives of the people before taking any decision.”
He contended that arecanut does not promote cancer and demanded that arecanut products should not be banned. Rajesh Anekal, an arecanut grower of Sullia, said the government should think about people’s lives first before thinking about their health.
“The ban would definitely bring down the arecanut price. It will indirectly force people to commit suicide,” he said. All India Arecanut Growers’ Association’s Manchi Srinivasa Achar took a direct pot-shot at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s recent suggestion on introducing cheap liquor and said, “If the government is really concerned about the health of the public, it should ban liquor. We are not supporting gutkha, but those products whose contents are only arecanut and other sweet items should be allowed.”
Still, there also appears to be a general sense of relief that a decision on the ban has finally been taken.
Shimoga District Areca Growers’ Association president and areca grower B A Ramesh Hedge said: “Let the government take its decision if it is inevitable. But it is better to postpone the execution of the decision for a few months to give time to the grower to make alternative arrangements.”
Another farmer Guru said: “It is a good decision. We should minimise the importance given to areca. Growers should consider this as a sub-crop instead of major commercial crop. The government should encourage the growers to grow banana, pepper, cocoa, cardamom and other crop in between areca as major crops.”
Still, the proposed ban created ripples.
About 55,000 areca growers in Shimoga, Sagar, Tirthahalli and Hosanagar taluks have been getting on an average Rs 12,000-15,000 per quintal. There are over 450 areca mandis employing more than 2,000 people in the Shimoga APMC. There are more than 600 licenced commission agents with annual transactions of Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 crore dealing with 6 to 6.5 lakh bags of areca.
This APMC controls more than 50 per cent of the total areca business in the state.
In Dakshina Kannada district, the impact is on the 1,55,528 small and 37,523 very small farmers. Sullia stands first in arecanut production, followed by Beltangady, Puttur, Bantwal and Mangalore.
In Chitradurga, areca farmer from Bheemasamudra T G Narendranath pointed out that successive governments from two decades should have taken steps to demotivate farmers from growing the crop. “They failed to do this, creating this huge problem. Siddaramaiah should now give us a bailout package,” he said. Narendranath said the alternative uses of arecanut has no takers.
“A majority of the farmers have lost their arecanut plantations to the arid climate and drought from two years,” he added.
