Karnataka Gutka Ban Row Deepens as Minister Refuses Withdrawal

Karnataka is a state in India, and its government made a rule to stop the selling of gutka and pan masala — chewy snacks that contain tobacco and nicotine, which are very bad for people's health.

The health department made this rule because companies were selling the parts of the snack separately to get around an older rule.

But just two days later, the government decided to take the new rule back.

Some government members who represent places where arecanut, a type of nut, grows asked the Chief Minister to cancel the ban, because they said it would make the price of arecanut go down and hurt farmers.

The Chief Minister, D K Shivakumar, said he was not told about the rule properly, and he told the health officials to cancel it.

But the Health Minister, U T Khader, said no.

He said gutka is very dangerous and kills many people, especially people who are not rich, and he said the ban would actually help local farmers because gutka makers use cheap arecanut brought from other countries.

When people heard about the ban, many rushed to buy and store lots of gutka, which made it very hard to find and much more expensive.

Right now, the two leaders disagree about what to do next.