Nagpur : A delegation of The Nagpur Itwari Kirana Merchants Association under the leadership of Krishna Khopde and Vikas Kumbhare, MLAs, met Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Shivpratap Singh, Secretary of the Association alleged that some anti-social elements are harassing betel nut traders.
These anti-social elements who are pretending to be the agents of police and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) are intercepting the trucks of betel nut traders during the night and harassing them.
He alleged that they are also demanding money from the truck drivers. A delegation of betel nut traders alongwith MLA Krishna Khopde recently met top officials of police and Commissioner of FDA Department and acquainted them about the problems being faced by the traders. A memorandum was also submitted to them.
Commissioner of Police had said that police had no right to stop the trucks laden with goods. Without the written letter of Joint Commissioner of FDA, no one can conduct investigation against traders. They should not be harassed on the directives of those persons who are not concerned either with police of or the Food and Drugs Administration.
Singh said, “Nagpur is an important and leading betel nut trading centre. It has gained importance due to its geographical location. Logistically, the distribution of betel nuts becomes easy from Nagpur as it has connectivity to all the places of the country with roads and railways,” he said.
However, Singh alleged that some people in the society with the help of anti-social elements are taking undue advantage of the situation.
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