Enforcement officers lauded for seizure of fake goods in Punjab
Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Mar, 2022 11:22 AM
Amritsar, March 28 (IANS) A former Delhi High Court judge Manmohan Sarin complimented the enforcement officers of Punjab for seizure of fake and smuggled consumer goods, alcohol, food products, gold and cigarettes.
Quoting the World Economic Forum data, he said illicit trade has resulted in an annual drain of $2.2 trillion which is approximately 3 per cent of the world GDP in 2020.
While complimenting the enforcement officers, he said their hands-on approach has led to large number of seizures in the state of fake and smuggled goods.
He was speaking at an interactive session by FICCI CASCADE on the 'Strategies' to combat smuggling and counterfeiting, here.
The objective was to facilitate a wider exchange of ideas and ensure a multifaceted perspective to understand the gravity of the menace caused by illicit trade.
Rahul Nangare, Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Amritsar, said 32 kg of gold from Afghanistan, 584 kg of heroin from Pakistan and 483 kg of cannabis were seized recently along Indo-Pakistan border in the state.
Talking about the menace of smuggling, he underscored the importance of inter-agency coordination, international collaborations, capacity building of officers and need for modern examination machine for creating a balance between enforcement and trade facilitation.
Sanjay Gaur, Deputy Inspector General, Border Security Force, highlighted the challenges such as difficult terrains, extreme climate and porous borders faced by BSF officers in their day-to-day operations in managing the security.
"Items such as heroin, arms and ammunition, gold, silver, tobacco are most smuggled items across borders," he added.
FICCI's Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) over the years has been actively focusing on curbing the problem of growing illicit trade in smuggled, pass-offs and counterfeit goods.
The development comes after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of farmer bodies, suspended the agitation after the Union government repealed the three farm laws and conceded its other demands. Subsequently the farmers started vacating the Delhi borders where they have been stationed for more than a year.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday gave a clarion call for the establishment of a truly federal structure in the country, with genuine cultural, political and economic autonomy to states. It also announced to implement a Rs 50,000 per acre crop insurance scheme, besides commitment to revive the pre-2004 pension scheme for government employees.
In order to provide constructed houses to the economically weaker section (EWS) across the state, the Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday approved invitation of applications for allotment of 25,000 houses to be constructed by urban development authorities. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Charanjit Channi here.
On October 3, eight people, including four protesting farmers, had died when a SUV belonging to Ashish Mishra had mowed them down on the outskirts of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh. One local journalist had died in the ensuing violence.
Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Amarinder Singh on Tuesday warned Punjab Police officials against intimidating his party workers at the behest of some local Congress leaders. The former Chief Minister was reacting to reports of Punjab cops stopping PLC workers, who were putting up posters in the Malwa region.
Before the account was restored, a tweet was shared with a URL on PM Modi's timeline which read, "India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender. The government has officially bought 500 BTC and is distributing them to all residents of the country."
