Cops stub out butt from shop near school….Shreya Bhandary
Mumbai: All it took was a written complaint to the Azad Maidan police and the commissioner of police to smoke out cigarettes from a shop near the Anjuman-I-Islam Allana English High School opposite CST.
On Monday, usual visitors to the Ram Bharose Paan Beedi Shop were surprised when the owner suddenly announced that she wont sell cigarettes anymore. This paan-beedi shop, frequented by students, is right outside the school and also sells non-alcoholic drinks. On Monday, however, the shop wore a deserted look.
Some policewallahs came to my shop and handed me a notice, asking me to stop selling gutka and cigarettes. Apparently, the principal has complained against me, said the shop owner. While cigarettes are no longer sold at the shop, the owner continues to sell gutka.
Schools principal Rehana Salamat decided to lodge a complaint after noticing that may students were visiting the shop almost daily. I wrote letters to the police commissioner and the local police. The shop not only sells gutka pouches and cigarettes, but also some drinks which the owner claims are nonalcoholic. Who knows what those drinks are made of?
A Government Resolution released in the last week of February said that no paan-beedi shop can come up within 100 m of an educational institute. Heads of schools, however, plead helplessness when it comes to makeshift tobacco stalls. After a police crackdown, hawkers and paan-beedi shops disappear for a few days, but make a comeback as soon as the heat is off them. We need a permanent solution, said Lalitha Hariharan, principal of Rizvi Springfield School in Bandra (W).
An official from the Azad Maidan police station told TOI, We received the complaint last week, following which we called the shop owner for questioning. We also imposed a fine on her and she has stopped selling cigarettes now.
Times View
Cops and BMC officials should be more proactive in implementing the ban on paan-beedi shops within 100 m of schools and colleges. It is their job to follow the government resolution and seek out the establishments violating the rules instead of waiting for principals to come forward and lodge a complaint. More importantly, the stalls that have already been removed should not be allowed to make a comeback.
Cops and BMC officials should be more proactive in implementing the ban on paan-beedi shops within 100 m of schools and colleges. It is their job to follow the government resolution and seek out the establishments violating the rules instead of waiting for principals to come forward and lodge a complaint. More importantly, the stalls that have already been removed should not be allowed to make a comeback.
* The owner of the Ram Bharose Paan Beedi Shop, which is right outside the Anjuman-IIslam Allana English High School near CST, has stopped selling cigarettes