Hookah parlours banned across Maharashtra, fine for violations
The Maharashtra government issued a notice on Thursday, introducing a ban on hookah parlors in the state. The notice was issued by the govt after the President consented to the bill gone by state governing body in April this year.
Maharashtra is the second state after Gujarat to force such a ban, which will be applied with immediate effect. The corrected Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003, forces a fine of Rs 1 lakh and detainment of up to three years for the violations. The amendment has additionally made the offense non cognisable. "Since the notice has been issued, the ban becomes effective immediately. It will be the obligation of the police to ensure the ban is implemented," said an authority from the home office. The home department had been wanting to manage hookah parlors, however boss priest Devendra Fadnavis demanded a ban after the fire at Kamala Mills in December 2017, in which 14 individuals passed on of suffocation.
As indicated by the report by the test board, the fire was caused by a coal from a hookah. "The govt ban has been there on hookah parlors after the Bombay high court order from a couple of years back, yet they were in activity in connivance with the authorities. Presently with the ban, the govt should to guarantee its strict implementation," said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, a cancer surgeon and against tobacco crusader. Specialists have said that the ban was not completely implemented infer able from dispute about the interpretation of the court arrange. Read the full article
