Tobacco products were sold with impunity near schools and colleges in Jamshedpur on Thursday in clear violation of chief secretary Rajbala Verma's Wednesday directive to ban the sale of cigarettes, bidis, gutkha, paan, khaini and other related products within a radius of 100 guz or 91 metres from educational institutions.
It was business as usual for makeshift shops selling tobacco items near schools and colleges, some as close as seven metres, in Sakchi, Bistupur, Kadma, Sonari, Golmuri, Agrico, Burmamines and Telco.
Most premier educational institutions such as Loyola School, XLRI, Karim City College, among others, have cigarette shops a stone's throw away. These shops were all open on Thursday.
Under Section 6 of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act or Cotpa 2003, sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products within a 100-guz radius of educational institutions is illegal.
But, according to a conservative estimate, over 15 schools and around five colleges in Jamshedpur have such shops, often even at a distance of less than 10 metres from their school boundary wall, a clear violation of Section 6 of Cotpa 2003.
Asked, East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Amit Kumar reiterated their administration resolve to enforce tobacco sale ban near educational institutions.
"We had decided to constitute an anti-tobacco flying squad and make it operational from May 31 (World No Tobacco Day). However, child lynching and subsequent violence in Mango delayed our plans. We will constitute the flying squad comprising personnel from police, civil administration and health department for regular raids on Cotpa violators and punish them under the provision of law," DC Kumar promised.
While chairing a state-level coordination meeting of National Tobacco Control Programme in Ranchi, chief secretary Verma had approved setting up anti-tobacco squads across the state to fix violators under Cotpa.
School principals appreciated the intent but doubted its execution or its sustainability.
Nandini Shukla, principal of Sakchi-based Kerala Samajam Model School in Sakchi, where the nearest cigarette shop is less than 15 metres away, said the spirit of the ban was most welcome.
"But I want authorities to chalk out a plan for sustaining the enforcement, as has been done in the case of helmet checks, rather than merely announce the ban," she said.
There have been some efforts in 2015 and 2014 too, she pointed out. "But after a few days of so-called raids, the administration stops its crackdowns and tobacco shops once again flourish near schools and colleges. Back to square one," the principal of the well-known co-educational CISCE school said wryly.
Another principal of a well-known CISCE institution, ADLS Sunshine School in Sakchi, and with tobacco shops within a stone's throw of its campus, said making the ban sustainable in the steel city called for a joint effort on the part of private corporate bodies and civil administration.
"We had approached Jusco (which looks after civic utilities in Tata Steel command areas) after a shop selling tobacco products operated virtually on the other side of our school boundary wall and there were instances of students scaling the boundary walls during school hours to purchase pan masala. Jusco created a pavement kind of raised structure to prevent such shops from operating. But, the shops simply went on the other side of the road facing our school. Tell us, what do we do?" said Indrani Singh, principal of Sakchi-based ADLS Sunshine School.
How can tobacco shops be removed from educational hubs? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com
