Karnataka requests Centre to lift export ban on 'Bangalore Rose Onion'
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Monday requested the Centre to lift the ban on export of 'Bangalore Rose Onion' with immediate effect to benefit a large number of small and marginal farmers of the state.
In a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Minister for Horticulture and Sericulture Narayana Gowda requested the Centre to assign a separate Harmonised System (HS) code for Bangalore Rose Onion.
"I would like to share with you that Bangalore Rose Onion is a unique GI product grown in Karnataka.
This variety of onion is grown by the small and marginal farmers and only for export purpose with insignificant domestic market," Gowda said in his letter.
He said any restriction on export of this variety of onion would directly affect the farmers and the exporters engaged in it and put them to hardship.
The Centre has banned export of all types of onions to regulate the price and ensure hassle free supply of essential commodities in the market.
The government, he said, also requested the Centre to assign a separate HS code for Bangalore Rose Onion to facilitate and promote the export of this variety, he said.
"I wish to bring to your kind attention that during 2000 -2001, the Government of India assigned a separate HS code for Bangalore Rose onion.
However, this was subsequently done away with," he noted.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
