Gutkha on sale at a shop. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Motihari/Gaya/Bhagalpur, April 15: Gutkha and mouth fresheners are being sold in plastic sachets in several districts in complete defiance of the ban order passed by the Supreme Court in February this year.

The ban, which was to be enforced from March 1 by officials at the local level, has failed to take off. The judgment was passed to curb the uncontrolled use of plastic sachets, which cause pollution and pose a threat to the ecological balance.

The administration in Champaran and Motihari districts denied having received any such official information regarding the said order.

The sellers have been overlooking the Supreme Court order by selling gutkha in plastic sachets in open market and are also taking advantage of the ban order by selling the commodity in black market for the past one month.

“In Champaran, a carton of Bahar gutkha containing 54 sachets was sold at Rs 87 till February. Now, it is being sold for Rs 180. “Similarly, a carton of Shikhar containing 65 sachets was sold for Rs 45 earlier. Wholesellers now sell it for Rs 170,” told Ranjeet, a betelseller in Motihari.

“Following the ban, gutkha is being sold in paper sachets here. However, it is sold in black,” said Raushan Kumar

“The government should control the price of gutkha. The shopkeepers are taking advantage of the situation and charging exorbitant prices,” said Samir Kumar, a gutkha buyer.

Motihari sub-divisional magistrate Radha Kant said he had no information regarding any order to this effect by the Supreme Court nor did he receive any specific official guidelines in the matter.

Inspector of food in Champaran district Birendra Prasad brushed off his responsibilities saying: “Since the ingredients contain tobacco, all onus related to the matter lies with the excise department.”