Arunachal bans coal, sales drop across northeast

Itanagar, Aug 10 (UNI) The Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to impose a complete ban on soft drinks, state Health and Family Welfare Minister C C Singpho said.

''We have already seized all the products available in the market and sent to Guwahati for testing,'' he added.

The state cabinet in its meeting here yesterday had decided to ban sale of soft drinks in the state, sources said.

Tripura, Asom, Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya are yet to send samples for testing and to initiate measures to ban soft drinks.

Following a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report that the aerated drinks contain pesticide residues, sales across the northeast have dropped significantly.

Dealers and retailers across the region have reported a sudden drop in sales after publication of the report.

Though many states have banned consumption soft drinks, Arunachal is among the first state in the Northeast to send samples for testing in Asom.

People in the northeastern states have stopped consuming these products despite no move by the respective governments to ban the products.

''The sales slashed by 75 per cent in the last few days,'' Sankar Sarkar, a shopkeeper here, said.

''We are in dilemma whether to continue to sell the brands as some customers were still asking for the soft drinks,'' he added.

''The state government should immediately ban entry of the products after digging out the fact,'' said Lala Techi, president of Arunachal Chambers of Commerce and Industries (ACCI).

''Retailers and wholesalers of the product should not be blamed as they are not involved in this any way,'' he added.

Pressure is, meanwhile, mounting on the soft drink brands till a comprehensive report on the investigation is being carried out by the Union Health Ministry is out, sources revealed.

Many people have condemned the two brands, whereas, many die-hard consumers of the two major brands have vowed not to switch their loyalty despite reports of presence of pesticides and few even questioned the authenticity of the test carried out by the CSE.

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