Despite the Uttarakhand High Court having repeatedly asked the administration for strict enforcement of the Cigarettes And Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) with focus on the sale of such products in the vicinity of the educational institutions, the sale of them near the schools and colleges is still rampant. Notably, sale of tobacco products is restricted within the 100-yard radius of the educational institutions under Section 6 of COTPA. However, things are being flouted with impunity by some vendors who are being seen selling cigarettes and other tobacco products to the youngsters studying in the colleges satiated nearby. The administration and police seem to be fawning on the blatant violation of the law with the youths being seen daily to throng such shops to smoke.
Speaking on the matter, the principal, of DAV College Dr Davendra Bhasin said that it is sad that the students are having such easy access to these things near the institutions they are studying in. “We are, however, alert over consumption of such products within the college campus. But as soon as they leave the campus they are found flocking around such shops that sell such products. The administration must step in effectively to stop such violation of the law. Besides, the such students must be convinced of the ill effects of such addiction. It not just harms their health and career but brings long-term harm on the society and the country,” he said.
A tobacco seller trading near DBS College in the city said that they are selling cigarettes to the students of the college. “Many of them told me that they smoke 10 fags or more a day. It is true that we are earning money at their expense,” he admitted.
Quizzed over the sale of tobacco products just outside the college, the principal DBS College Dr O P Kulshrestha said that the law is being violated with such impunity as it remains merely on paper while the law enforcers are choosing to turn a blind eye to its violation on the ground, leaving thus the future of such students and the country to gloom.