Team Mangalorean - Puttur
from Vishal Nekkilady

Puttur: Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (CAMPCO) president Konkody Padmanabha has assured that the ban imposed by the Madhya Pradesh government on 'gutkha' (a chewable preparation of crushed arecanut, tobacco and other ingredients) would not affect the areca-growers' from the coastal Karnataka, who supply whitish, hard and dried nuts, locally called 'gotu'  to the market.

He told mediapersons that 'gotu' was not an ingredient in gutkha but used only in 'paan' and in other chewing purposes. Hence the growers did not need to be scared by the bogey of the ban. He also revealed that the CAMPCO had filed a writ petition against the ban on behalf of the growers. Gutkha was hazardous to health not because of the arecanut content but because of the tobacco element. Research had proved that arecanut had no adverse effect on health, hence there was no point in passing the blame on to tobacco.

He added that there would always be rumours in the areca market and the growers should not give importance to them. The role of growers in the stabilization of prices had been proved during the current year. Hence the growers did not need to harbour any worry, he further said.