Himachal defers ban on gutka till October

Shimla: Less than a week after imposing a blanket ban on the manufacture, storage and sale of `gutka` (tobacco paan masala) and its variants in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government Tuesday deferred its ban.

The ban on `gutka` and other tobacco products has been put off till Oct 2, an official statement quoting Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said.

It said the decision in this regard was taken by Dhumal on the appeal of retailers to enable them exhaust their stocks.

Himachal Pradesh has joined a handful of states, including Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, to impose total ban on `gutka`.

IANS