The Karnataka government will crack down on manufacturers found mixing intoxicating substances in pan masala and gutka, said Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday.
While addressing the 31st Foundation Day celebrations of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and the Nasha Mukta Bharat Conclave in Bengaluru, Shivakumar stated that all such products could be banned in the state if they are found to be containing narcotic substances, PTI reported.
He has urged students and healthcare professionals to come up as ambassadors of a drug-free Karnataka.
“I have received information that even products like pan masala and gutka are now being mixed with substances that cause intoxication. If anyone is found adding even a small quantity of any intoxicating substance to these products, I will make every effort to ban them in Karnataka,” Shivakumar said.
Shivakumar has called drug menace as one of the biggest challenges that the society faces.
“Our goal is to build a drug-free Karnataka,” he noted.
Shivakumar said the Karnataka government launched multiple initiatives to curb drug abuse and looks forward to enforce anti-drug measures across the state, especially across all educational institutions.
Also, he highlighted that the state is home to India’s largest health sciences university that produces 13,940 medical graduates annually, with over 70 medical colleges and more than four lakh students.
Invoking former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s words, “The children of today will make the India of tomorrow,” Shivakumar stated that safeguarding the younger generation from drugs was crucial to securing the nation’s future.