india

Updated: Jan 16, 2019 07:20 IST

It may be tough to resist the taste of the famous Banarasi paan, but mindless spitting on the walls and streets of Varanasi is threatening the cleanliness mission in the city , the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Be it the ghats -- the steps that lead to the banks of the Ganga -- road dividers, streets or walls, red splotches left by paan eaters can be found in the entire city of how many people .That it’s the Lok Sabha pocket borough of no less than the Prime Minister, who launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) in 2014 to promote sanitation, hasn’t made a difference to spitters of paan juice.

Paan is a mildly intoxicating preparation wrapped in betel leaf, usually containing tobacco, betel nut and other flavourings. It is chewed as a stimulant, digestive aid or simply as a mouth freshener and spat out.

Varanasi district magistrate Surendra Singh has now made an appeal to paan lovers not to spit in the open and deface the city.

“It is the responsibility of every resident to keep the city clean. It has been seen that some people often spit on dividers, roadsides and at public places which leaves behind red stains. It has a negative impact on the cleanliness mission,” Singh said. “Such activities create a negative image in the minds of foreigners who visit Varanasi from different parts of the world.”

He added: “I appeal to the people not to spit in the open after chewing paan. I also appeal to paan sellers to urge people purchasing paan from their shops not to spit public places. They should also put up an appeal in their shops.,” the DM said.

If possible, paan vendors should prepare and sell a paan that did not require paan chewers to spit the juice, the DM said “This will help in making the cleanliness mission a complete success,” he added, expressing the hope that every citizen would cooperate in the initiative.

Kailash Chaurasia, a paan seller in the city’s Teliabagh area, said: “ We offer two types of paan to the paan lovers. Paan with both kattha (translate) and choona (lime) and green paan leaves with only choona. After being chewed, kattha paan spit creates stains while choona paan doesn’t create any stain. We will now promote the choona paan.”

In July 2017, the Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) planned to fine paan chewers up to Rs 500 for spitting in the open and Rs 100 for littering public spaces with mahua leaf wrappers — the triangular sheaths in which the popular chewy mixture is sold.

The step was a part of the mission to clean litter and paan spit smudges in Varanasi.

Municipal commissioner Nitin Bansal had then said there was no ban on chewing the Banarasi paan but people should enjoy it responsibly, without spitting and throwing the wrappers in public spaces.No headway was made and no fine was eventually imposed on people spitting in the open.

“Where there cleanliness, there is health. Where there is dirt, there is diseases. Therefore, I appeal to the people to keep their surroundings clean,” said Rajesh Shukla, a cleanliness activist. “They should not spit on the dividers and ghats and other public places. Dividers have been made for their safety. Keep them clean.”

The Banarasi paan is as legendary as its place of origin, known as the world’s oldest living city. Shops selling paan are located alongside the roads, bylanes and the famous Ganga ghats. The Banarasi paan inspired a popular song ‘Khaike paan Banaras wala...’ in the Amitabh Bachchan:starrer Don (1978).

One such establishment also invented a “Shah Rukh special”, named after Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan who stopped at the shop for a paan during a movie promotion in the city.