Ranchi district administration will soon crack down against illegally mushrooming hookah bars, a decision taken after a daylong workshop on Wednesday on implementing the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA).

Ranchi DC Manoj Kumar on Wednesday attended the workshop with senior police, health and district personnel as well as members of NGO Socio-Economic Educational Development Society in this regard. The district tobacco control cell headed by DC, with civil surgeon, SP and other members, is responsible for implementing COTPA.

Over a dozen hookah bars run on premises of hotels, restaurants and pubs in Ranchi, in effect promoting smoking in a public place. Deputy development commissioner (DDC) Virendra Kumar Singh, who was present at Wednesday's workshop, said they were currently preparing a database of establishments with hookah bars.

Jharkhand so far does not have a provision for a hookah bar licence, explained assistant excise commissioner Uma Shankar Singh. "When you are using a public smoking you are violating the law," said the senior excise official.

Ranchi Municipal Corporation commissioner Prashant Kumar agreed. "A hotel or restaurant gets licence for a specific commercial purpose. A hookah bar is not in our concept," he said.

Owners of restaurants, pubs and hotels simply convert a part of the premises to start a hookah bar, said DDC Singh. But, COTPA clearly bans smoking in public places, which includes amusement centres, restaurants, public offices, among others, that don't have open space but are accessed by the general public. Smoking areas in restaurants, hotels, among others, are to be physically segregated in such a manner that the air from these areas does not circulate to non-smoking areas.

Also, display of non-smoking signs, such as "Smoking here is strictly prohibited" is mandatory at all public places, but seldom followed.

The DC also ordered all government and private buildings used for public purpose to display no-tobacco zone boards at prominent places with phone numbers of authorities concerned so that violations can be reported directly. Such boards will be mandatory at educational institutions too where sale of tobacco products is prohibited within a 100-metre radius.

Shops selling tobacco products within the 100-metre radius of a school or a college will also face a crackdown. Shops need to clearly display boards saying sale of tobacco to minors is prohibited.

"You can spot minors smoking everywhere though COTPA clearly states shopkeepers can't sell tobacco to a minor," said Ranchi civil surgeon Shivshankar Harijan.

DDC Singh added that Ranchi police had been instructed to brief personnel about COTPA and carry surprise drives to stop violations.

From April, the district administration is also planning to simultaneously launch a public awareness drive on a wider scale.

A series of workshops will be held at schools, colleges and the community level. Workshops will be held for government officials too.

As a token, the administration on Wednesday evening held a drive in Chanho, Ormanjhi and Kanke and fined seven shopkeepers, a hotel and a restaurant and one smoker for violating COTPA.