COIMBATORE: Coimbatore City police along with the stakeholder’s departments initiated a joint drive against the usage of banned tobacco and drugs among the public, especially students in the city. Police and FSSAI have decided to register cases and immediately cancel the trade licence of shops if they find them selling contraband.
Speaking at the joint committee meeting held at the City Police Commissionerate on Monday, City Police Commissioner V Balakrishnan urged the officers of the stakeholder departments to devise a strategy and to monitor the work through a common forum. “All departments can work together to reduce the sale and use of contraband among the public, especially students. The shops belonging to those involved in cases registered under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (COTPA) Act in the last three years should be inspected again and sealed through the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) if they found continuing the illegal trade.”
He said the parcel and train services will also be monitored thoroughly to prevent the smuggling of contraband from outside Tamil Nadu. After analysing the information about the people coming for de-addiction counselling at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, the police can intensify surveillance on areas with high numbers of addicts and arrest contraband sellers, he added.
“The education department will inform the police and corporation officials whether contraband is being sold in or nearby educational institutions once a month and they can take action against such shops. The repeat offenders of the COTPA Act cases will be booked under the Goondas Act. Even if there is only one case, licence of the shop should be cancelled, Balakrishnan further said.
K Tamilselvan, a designated officer of FSSAI said they usually impose fines of Rs 5000 and Rs 10,000 respectively for first and second-time offences of selling contraband. The third time they imposed a hefty fine of Rs 25,000 and cancelled the licence. “But hereafter we won’t give chances and the licence will be cancelled if anyone found a contraband sale at the first time,” he said.
Deputy director of Health Services P Aruna said the students are increasingly addicted to tobacco and drug use due to peer pressure and family environment. She said that the teachers should identify those students and take steps to guide them towards de-addiction. The police also launched a QR code and people can share information about drug peddling and sale with police by scanning it.