Un-holy smoke

Jorhat, Oct. 10: Mahishasur is not the only evil Durga will fight in Jorhat pandals — tobacco will also receive a lethal stab.

The Jorhat District Tobacco Control Cell has proposed an award for the Puja organising committee that manages the best display of anti-tobacco messages at its pandal.

Since the Pujas are an occasion which ensure a large gathering of people from all walks of life, the tobacco control cell, with the deputy commissioner as its chairman, decided to use the opportunity to highlight the harmful effects of tobacco during the four days.

The nodal officer of the tobacco control cell, Bhaktimoy Bhattacharjee, who is also the district senior medical health office, said the cell had requested the central Puja organising committee of Jorhat under which over 60 Puja mandaps were being built, to display anti-tobacco messages through posters, hoardings and banners.

As a next step, the cell decided to introduce an award to be given away to the organising committee with the “best display” against tobacco.

He said along with the awards given away by the district administration to Puja organising committees for the best idol, maintaining discipline and decorations, an award for best anti-tobacco campaign will be introduced from this year. A certificate and a gift will be part of the gain.

Bhattacharjee said he had urged the organisers to do away the social custom of offering black tobacco (kola dhapat) along with paan and betel nut to guests who visit the mandaps.

If such traditions are stopped at religious and social gatherings, then people will gradually discard tobacco from their daily life.

Welcoming the proposal of the Jorhat District Tobacco Control Cell, the secretary of the Jorhat Central Puja Organising Committee, Sandip Nandy, said the committee had urged all organising committees to put up posters, hoardings, banners at entry and other vantage points to grab the attention of the devotees.

“We would definitely like to work for betterment of the society and Durga Puja being used as medium to do away something bad is ideal,” Nandy said.

Siva Kalita, the president of the Jorhat district unit of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, has also supported the move and has appealed to the organisers to carry out the campaign.