Tobacco shops near school: DEO asks authorities to take action

Rachna Khaira

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 24

District Education Officer Harinderpal Singh today wrote to the authorities of Mandi Fentonganj School to take action on the two tobacco shops running near school premises.

The District Education Officer said as the department could not take direct action against the shops, it had asked for the police help for their closure. “We have initiated the action and are hopeful that with the police support, we will get these removed from the school premises,” he said.

The Tribune, in its recent report, had highlighted that despite the implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, two tobacco shops have been running on the Mandi Fentonganj school premises from the last many years.

When asked, the Health and Education Departments claimed helplessness to close down the shops stating that they were not empowered to do so. Now, they have thrown the ball in the court of the police and said only the police department can take action on these shops.

While the in-charge of the Punjab Anti-Tobacco Cell, Dr Rakesh Gupta, had said on Wednesday that it was the sole responsibility of the Education Department that no such shop should be selling tobacco and tobacco-related products in the vicinity of an educational institution, official sources in the Health department had claimed that they were asked to take action under Section 5 and 7 of the Act which only deals with the ban of tobacco and tobacco-related advertisement in public places. The implementation of Section 6 of the Act was not carried out, which prevents running of tobacco shops outside educational institutions. The confusion thus, had prevailed over the implementation of the Act.