Malda, Dec. 27: Owners of bidi factories across the district and their workers took to the streets today, demanding that the new anti-tobacco act be scrapped.

The protesters were joined by their counterparts in Murshidabad.

Under the central Act, a bidi packet is supposed to have pictures of a dead man and that of a skull, spreading the message that bidi-smoking will lead to death. “The logo will create unnecessary fear among people,” a bidi factory-owner said. “Cigarette smoking and consumption of alcohol are also injurious to health. Moreover, non-smokers also die of cancer and TB.”

Around 5,000 bidi workers staged a protest in front of the district magistrate’s office today and submitted a memorandum to him. The demonstration was led by Aurangabad and Dhuliyan Bidi Merchants’ Association of All India Bidi Industry Federation. Following it, they gathered at the Muktamanch ground here.

“If the law about the logo is implemented, around 3 crore families will be affected. The state earns Rs 70 crore from the industry and to maintain it, the 2004-2006 act should be done away with,” a member of the association said.

Mostaq Hossain, the vice-president of All India Bidi Federation and the owner of Pataka Industries, has met Union ministers Pranab Mukherjee and Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. “The Centre should remember that bidi leaves are not so harmful,” Hossain said.