BENGALURU: What’s a hearty meal without a juicy paan-beeda to top it off? And what’s a paan-beeda without betelnuts? You’d be surprised to know that arecanut, a major cash crop, was listed as a narcotic substance by the government on one of its online portals.The government’s war on narcotic drugs may have received appreciation from many, including lawmakers, but its move to put arecanut, also considered a sacred offering in Hindu culture, under the narcotics category, certainly did not go down well with legislators. In fact, it angered them so much that they took the government to task and forced it to immediately correct its folly.
Just when areca growers in the state were hoping to get a good price for their produce, they were shocked to see it had been listed in the narcotics category on the ‘Krishi Marata Vahini’, an online agricultural marketing information system that gives information about various commodities in the state.
Sources in Krishi Vahini said they had taken it from a Government of India website, translated it and uploaded it on the website. Minutes after the issue was discussed in the Assembly, it was taken off the website.
The government may have been quick to make amends, but it had already ruffled feathers. On Friday, legislators demanded action against those responsible for such a blunder that hurt areca growers’ sentiments and also resulted in a sudden drop in prices.Initiating the debate on the issue in the Assembly, BJP MLA Hartal Halappa said they were aghast to know that areca was placed under the narcotics category, that too on a government website. The legislators sought to know who took such a decision and why. “Such a move has resulted in a drop in areca prices in Shivamogga market,” he said.
‘ It’s humiliation and betrayal of arecanut growers’
“You (Home Minister) have done a good job in the fight against the drugs. (But) We want you to take action against those responsible for putting areca on the narcotics list,” he said, even as several other MLAS raised concern. BJP MLA and Chairman of the State Areca Task Force, Araga Jnanendra, said after reports about areca being brought under the narcotics category started doing the rounds on social media, prices dropped by around Rs 2,000 per quintal.
“It was on the list (of narcotics drugs category) for 15 years and we did not know who put it up. Now, after we have raised the issue, they have removed it from the state website,” he said. Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai assured them of correcting the mistake and looking into their concerns. The Shivamogga District Areca Growers’ Association president Ramesh Hegde said, “It’s betrayal of arecanut growers. The Agriculture Minister should apologise and explain why arecanut was brought under the narcotics section.”