DU Law Faculty tops list of 14 ‘smoking dens’ on campus: Study

A study by the World Lung Foundation (South Asia),which was submitted in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday,disclosed this before a bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw.

Following close in the Law faculty’s heels was the Mall Road bus stand and the Delhi School of Economics (DSE).

According to the study,817 persons were found smoking at Mall Road bus stand while the number of smokers in the DSE were 806. The number of cigarette stubs found at the bus stand and the DSE were 452 and 444 respectively.

The study has also taken into consideration other ‘smoking dens’ such as the Gwyer Hall Canteen,PG men’s hostel,Miranda House hostel wall,FMS canteen,Department of Social Welfare bus stand,etc.

The counsel for the World Lung Foundation,Santosh Kumar,submitted the study in court,complaining that the enforcement of the ban on smoking was yet to be strictly implemented at the said 14 smoking dens,and the situation required a proactive role by the police and Delhi University officials. “The study highlights that the ban enforcement is not effective at these spots,and immediate measures are required to be taken,” Kumar added.

After perusing the study,the bench asked Delhi Police Commissioner B K Gupta,the Delhi government and the university to enforce the law,which prohibits vendors from selling tobacco products within 100 yards of schools,colleges and hospitals.

As the bench comprised two judges who also studied in the Law Faculty,Delhi government Standing Counsel Najmi Waziri could not help mentioning,“The study discloses that the Law faculty tops the list. And I think we all can agree with that being at the same institution at some point of time. We will certainly do our bit to improve the situation.”