SURAT, June 2: 'World No Tobacco Day' was celebrated in a big way in Surat by Health Forum, the Surat Municipal Corporation and a host of other non-governmental organisations on Sunday.The celebrations began with the inauguration of an exhibition, put up by Health Forum and the Swaminarayan Mandir, by Municipal Commissioner S Jagadeesan. Hundreds of people turned up for the exhibition put up at Rotary Hall near T & T V High School in Nanpura. The exhibition highlighted the ills caused by tobacco consumption.Bands of volunteers from different parts of the city picketed in front of paan shops and joints selling gutkha and paan masalas, providing personal guidance to those consuming tobacco, and distributed anti-tobacco pamphlets. Volunteers also stuck posters on passing vehicles and sold booklets advocating giving up tobacco consumption in all forms.Owner of Banarasi Paan House in Timaliawad volunteered to keep his shop closed. Members of the Jain Social Group and Health Forum met his customers and impressed upon them virtues of giving up their habits. Volunteers of Susanskar Deep Yuva Mandal along with forum members met several addicts around Baroda Pristage area. A bagful of gutkha pouches, bidis and cigarettes was set afire as a symbolic gesture of giving up tobacco consumption.The civic body and the forum organised jointly a mural competition on the wall of T & T V High School. As many as 20 persons took part in the competition judged by Dr Vikasben Desai and Vasudev Smart. This was followed by an elocution competition on `Should Tobacco-Gutkha be Banned?' Rameshbhai Oza and Shashikantbhai Shah were the judges.The celebrations ended with a vehicle rally that began from Nanpura and culminated at Sardar Chowk in Varachha after winding its way through Parle Point, Ghod Dod Road, Majura Gate, Ring Road and railway station areas. Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sansthan, Susanskar Deep Mandal, Manav Utthan Seva Samiti, Sarvodaya Mitra Mandal, Sankalp, Agakhan Health Board and Surat Jaycees Metro-Junior among others were part of the celebrations. Top
