Mangalore, Dec 2: District Committee of Bharatiya Janata Party staged a protest against the proposed ban on areca.
The protesters took out a massive rally from Jyoti Circle to Deputy Commissioner's office on Thursday and organized a public meet.
Former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda addressing the protesters said that the Congress government which has failed to even table the Gorakh Singh Committee report in the parliament, has let down the areca growers.
The Congress government has also withdrawn the team of senior advocates appointed by the BJP government.
“There are 12 main areas across the nation where areca is being grown. A romping 65 per cent of the total areca production of the country comes from Karnataka. As many as 25 lakh people are dependent on areca cultivation. Banning such an important commercial crops can be devastating not just on the lives of the growers but on the economy of the country as well,” said Mr Gowda adding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah must appoint lawyers to argue for the growers.
“The government must convince the Supreme Court about the medicinal properties of areca. An Areca Board too must be formed to safeguard the interest of the areca growers,” he opined.
Raitha Morcha President Araga Jnanendra suspecting the role of tobacco lobby, said that companies producing cigarettes are trying to bring in ban on areca.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP President Prathapsimha Nayak among others were present.
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