In the past 100 days, the Mizoram Police and the Assam Rifles have confiscated a staggering 5.44 lakh kilograms of areca nuts, which are also known as betel nuts or ‘supari’, worth Rs 31.73 crore. The contraband was smuggled from Myanmar and the illegal trade is said to be affecting the farmers in northeastern states, particularly in Mizoram and Tripura, who are now seeking central intervention.
The police have registered 19 FIRs and arrested 61 individuals in connection with the smuggling and illegal transportation of areca nuts. Despite the Mizoram government’s efforts to curb the illegal transportation of smuggled dry areca nuts, the contraband continues to be smuggled into India from Myanmar. Due to the high smuggling rate and transportation restrictions imposed by the Assam government, areca nut farmers in Mizoram and Tripura are struggling to supply their produce to other parts of the country.
The Assam government imposed strict restrictions on ferrying areca nut through its territory last year, resulting in difficulties for farmers in Tripura and Mizoram. To address this issue, the Mizoram Church Leaders Committee recently discussed the areca nut transportation issue with Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, John Barla, in Aizawl. They appealed to Barla to intervene and resolve the issue.
Congress leader and party legislator Lalrindika Ralte recently wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking intervention in resolving the problems faced by areca nut growers in Mizoram due to rampant smuggling of Burmese areca nuts. Ralte highlighted the widespread illegal import of dry areca nuts from neighbouring Myanmar, which has caused severe marketing problems for local farmers.
The arecanut growers of Tripura also organized agitations against the transportation restrictions imposed on their produce by the Assam government. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha talked to his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma over the issue and wrote a letter to resolve the problem. However, despite the discussions and interventions, the livelihood problem for the betel nut cultivators in Tripura persists, as Assam Police personnel posted across the inter-state border with Tripura continue to block the supply of Tripura’s betel nut consignments ferried by trucks without any reason.
