No paan, gutkha sale allowed in OMFED, OPOLFED stalls; BMC warns of action

Tightening its noose around the paan and gutkha sellers in the Odisha capital, the Bhubaneswar municipal Corporation (BMC) has warned the OMFED and OPOLFED parlour lessees to refrain from selling tobacco products in their booths.

Besides, the booth owners have also been directed to keep their periphery clean. A fine of Rs 5000 will be levied on the erring booth owners.

Informing the same, BMC Commissioner, Vijay Amruta Kulande said, “We have noticed that the OMFED and OPOLFED parlours are deviating from norms. They should not be selling tobacco products.”

Apart from that, Kulange also urged all the booth owners to keep at least 5-mtres periphery clean. He asked them to use two dustbins to segregate wet and solid wastes.

“We will levy a fine of Rs 5000 on anybody found violating the rule. We can even go to the extent of cancelling the license, but we will not compromise on sanitation,” Kulange warned.

On the other hand, the price of Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation (OMFED) milk has gone up by Rs 2 per litre since April 21.

After the hike, 500 ml of Omfed milk is now sold at Rs 24.

(Reported by Soumya Ranjan Sahu, OTV)