Smoking ban violated with impunity

PATNA: Though the ban on smoking in public places came into effect on Saturday, the smokers in the city don''t seem to be worried a bit.
Most of the shops continue receiving the same number of customers who feel that the best place to enjoy a smoke is on the road.
Rakesh, a BA student of Patna College, was busy releasing whirls of smoke near a tiny shop at a crowded place on Ashok Rajpath on a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon.
He said he had not heard of the ban, adding he can''t smoke at home in the presence of his family members.
"It is best to smoke on the road. I don''t think that the police here can go after every smoker. We also have a ban on gutkha, but its consumption has not decreased," he said.
Assar Ahmad, an MCA student, was among the several smokers near Mona cinema on Sunday. Queried about his behaviour, he said, "I am not aware of ban on smoking in public places."
But didn''t he read about it in the newspapers? "I don''t get time to read newspaper or watch news," he said.
People, mostly young boys, having a quick puff or chewing gutkha at corner shops in almost all the localities were the normal scene on Sunday.
Rajesh Ranjan, teacher at a private school in Kankarbagh, was having "fun" with friends in Apsara cinema hall as it was a holiday.
He said that he feels something is missing if he does not smoke. "I am aware of the ban. But I can''t spoil my day for the sake of a law," he said.
It is not the young alone who are bent on breaking the law. Even elders are not behind. Umesh Prasad Singh, in his late 60s, was at the Patna Junction to board a train on Sunday. The first thing he did there was to buy cigarettes.
He said that he has heard of the law and has decided to smoke only three cigarettes a day, but it will take time.
The shopkeepers were also ignorant of the law.
"Where will people smoke if not in the open?" asked Mushtaq, a shopowner. Meanwhile, DM Gautam Goswami said that the law will be implemented soon.
"I have sent letters to the SSP, SDOs and police stations ordering immediate implementation of the ban. However, it requires a holistic approach. Without giving information to people, the administration cannot take action. We have to ensure that every person knows about the ban on smoking," he said.