When will gutkha regulations find resonance?

VARANASI: For generations, Banarasi paan has been among the products that define the unique identity of Banaras, which also inspired the song ‘Khaike Paan Banaras Wala’ from the Bollywood film ‘Don’. At the wholesale paan (betel leaves) market in Varanasi, Naya Paan Dariba, trade is witnessing a decline, especially due to the growing popularity of cheaper gutkha bags.

Vijay Kumar Chaurasia, 70, quit his job at the Railway Cancer Hospital in Varanasi in 1976 and joined his family’s paan selling business in Naya Paan Dariba. Nearly fifty years later, the business that had made his family prosperous was now a burden.

“Youth prefer three bags of gutkha for just Rs 7.50 instead of enjoying paan priced between Rs 8 and 10. I used to sell paan worth Rs 1,000-2,000 every day. But yesterday I sold paan worth only 10 rupees. No company forced me to rely on free ration distributed by Garib Kalyan Yojana,” Chaurasia said.

“We voted for Modi in the last two elections. However, if the sale of gutkha is not regulated by the Modi and Yogi governments, we will have to look for an alternative option, if not in this election, then definitely in the future,” he said.

Rajesh Chaurasia, a paan wholesaler, added, “Apart from rising sales of cheaper gutkha, our business has also been hit by the emergence of smaller markets in other parts of UP.”

Kanhaiya Lal Chaurasia said, “Paan is not produced in Banaras, it comes from eastern states. It is heated and cooked here after which all types of paan become Banarasi paan. Workers from Odisha helped us in heating and cooking the paans for a long time. Today, many of them have started the same business in Odisha and are supplying paan directly to our customers in cities like Delhi and Mumbai, which ultimately contributes to our exports to Bangladesh and Pakistan.”