Sarfabad village in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of UttarPradesh made headlines recently when its panchayat decided to ban sale andconsumption of gutkha and khaini in the village, making the offences punishablewith fines. The village is also remotely part of the western UP belt notoriousfor issuing diktats against women shopping, using mobiles or the same-gotramarriages.
Selling gutkha products were to attract a fine of Rs 1,000,its consumption a fine of Rs 500 while those who reported the offence were toget a reward of Rs 100. Despite a run-in with the district administration whichsaid the panchayats were not empowered to impose such fines, the panchayat wentahead with its diktat enforcing it with a firm hand and unexpectedly popularsupport.
“Consuming gutkha was unheard of until migrant workerssettled here,”
insists Sukhbir Singh. However, in due course, sachets of gutkha productsflooded the local market and found buyers indiscriminately “both among themigrants as well as locals. There are around 50 small shops in the village andthe gutkha products were the most saleable things there until a few days ago.The sight of local boys chewing gutkha disturbed Singh no end. A pehalwan inhis prime, Singh has fond memories of village lads sweating it out daylong inakharas.
Singh has his own akhara where he trains a few interestedyouths. “I spotted some of them chewing gutkha,” Singh says. Concerned aboutthe health of youngsters, this 43-year-old panchayat member discussed thematter with village elders and decided to wage a battle against the evil.
Pehalwan Sukhbir Singh took up the enforcement into his ownhands. A team of village people was chosen for surprise checks. The resultswere pleasant. A gutkha sachet is hard to find in Sarfabad now. Sunil KumarAgarwal, a shopkeeper, used to sell around 300 sachets of gutkha till the dayof ban. He sells none today. Babita and her husband Inder keep a small shopselling tea, eggs, sweets and until last month also tobacco products.“Panchayat people regularly check village shops. We have stopped sellinggutkhas and other tobacco products,” says Babita.
Neighbouring villages were quick to learn from Sarfabad’sexample. Hoshiarpur’s village headman Ashok Kumar Yadav says more than hundredpeople attended the panchayat meeting and nobody opposed the move. ThisAmbedkar gram village is located near sector 51 of Noida. “Those present tookan oath to abide by the panchayat decision. For spreading awareness, a group ofschool students went around the village beating drums and reading out thedecree,” says Yadav.
This is not all. Sarfabad’s diktat has spread like wildfire.Around 30 gram panchayats of Gautam Buddh Nagar district are activelyconsidering to ban tobacco products. “We are trying to come out with largerconsensus on this issue,” says Ashok Kumar Yadav.
More than 25 percent population of the Gautam Buddh Nagardistrict consumes different forms of tobacco. It is more widespread in therural areas. “It is a good step taken by Noida villages and the results will begood,” says Dr Mahesh Sharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party who represents Noidain the state assembly. About the diktat’s run-in with the districtadministration, Sharma says, “It is a social issue and everything cannot be rununder the rule of law.”
