Mall,Ridge are no-smoking zones in Shimla: Chief Justice

A few months ago,the state government had declared Shimla as a ‘smoke-free’ town,but when a school student and a retired principal drew attention of the authorities/panellists,including Director General of Police D S Manhas,the chief justice clarified that law should not be interpreted only in letter,but also in its spirit (thinking).

The public places,as mentioned in the law,not only includes shopping malls,cinema halls,public/private work place,hotels,banquet halls,discotheques,canteen,coffee house,pubs,bars,airport lounge and railway stations,but also places where the non-smokers could inhale smoke and get affected.

Panellists Manhas and Prof Peter Ronald DeSouza,Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS),emphasised that children could play a very strong role in checking smoking — both at home and outside as being objected by a child would make an impact on this habit of elders.

The colloquium was organised jointly by SEVA Trust,an NGO started by journalist-turned-author Minakshi Chaudhry and Rakesh Kanwar,a senior state services officer,in collaboration with the HP State Legal Services Authority,the Department of Language,Art and Culture and the Public Relations Society of India,Shimla. Students from different schools were present and demanded a complete ban on the sale of drugs to children below a certain age.