PATNA: Pakistan-manufactured ‘Gori Beauty’ and ‘Chandani Whitening’ creams are in great demand in Bihar’s Kosi and Seemanchal regions, luring hundreds of men and women into this lucrative business.
The racket thriving in districts close to the Nepal border in Bihar came to light following the seizure of a huge consignment of the banned items from the border by SSB personnel. The creams were being smuggled into Bihar through Nepal.
The seizure alerted the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which issued instructions to SSB and the state police to step up surveillance on the border to check smuggling of banned items.
Following the recovery, the state health department and drug control cell stepped up surveillance in Bhagalpur and other districts of the Kosi and Seemanchal regions. “Separate teams have been assigned the task to check the smuggling of such items,” a DIG posted in the Kosi—Semanchal region said. The CDSCO has banned the sale of both creams manufactured by companies based in Pakistan’s Lahore. An investigation found harmful heavy metals and toxic elements such as mercury in both creams at levels several times higher than the prescribed limits.
“There is also no valid registration certificate for the import of these two unauthorised creams into Indian territory. Doctors say their use could damage the skin and may also have serious effects on the kidneys and nervous system,” an investigating officer remarked. Demand for these creams is reportedly high in rural areas of eastern Bihar. Their relatively low cost, compared with branded and expensive herbal creams, also makes them accessible to customers with limited budgets.
According to intelligence reports, smugglers are taking advantage of the porous Nepal border to transport banned cosmetic products to Bihar’s border and Terai areas. The products are then sent through the Seemanchal region to major markets in Bhagalpur, Purnia, Katihar, Araria and Kishanganj. People familiar with the cosmetics trade estimate that consumption of these banned creams in the Kosi-Seemanchal and eastern Bihar regions has reached thousands of pieces every month. The products are allegedly being transported from border areas to markets in other districts through smuggling networks.
IG, SSB, Nishit Kumar Ujjawal said, “We have received a list of Pakistan-made cosmetic items being smuggled into Bihar from Nepal. The customs department is also working on the racket,” he added. “No laxity will be tolerated on the part of SSB personnel assigned to guard the international border,” he told the media.
