Bernard wants illegal betel nut trade stopped

TURA, March 10: BJP leader and Tura MDC Bernard Marak on Sunday demanded that the illegal arecanut business be put to a stop immediately in the interest of thousands of families of Garo Hills who are depending on their plantations.
“Who is behind the Illegal arecanut business in Garo Hills? Illegal arecanut business has badly affected thousands of families in the rural areas as there are no buyers in Garo Hills,” Bernard said.
The BJP leader claimed that the illegal transportation of Burmese variety of arecanut through the Bangladesh borders were supplied by a group of businessmen from Meghalaya and Assam which has taken over the markets where Garo Hills bettelnuts were sold to.
It may be recalled TMC leader Mukul Sangma had earlier called for probe into ‘illegal’ import of high-quality dried betel nuts from Bangladesh into Meghalaya by central agencies.