Police crack whip on illegal hukkah bars in Jaipur

Illegal hukkah bars operating in the city are the latest phenomenon that has kept the Jaipur police busy.

According to data from the crime branch of the Jaipur police, 70 cases have come up from January to September this year wherein action has been taken against such facilities.

The data indicates that most of the hukkah bars were operating in the police district of Jaipur south, where many hotels and restaurants operate in areas such as Ashok Nagar and C-scheme. The total number of cases that have come up in Jaipur south is 40.

“During the raids at places where hukkah is served, action is taken against all those people who are seen serving the hukkah to minors,” said additional commissioner of police, crime, Prafulla Kumar.

Police said in many such raids it has been found that a large number of such cafes and restaurants are seen to be in violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 or COTPA Act.

The data reveals that apart from Jaipur south, 19 such cases were seen in Jaipur east and 11 in Jaipur west.

“Many of these places openly flout rules by adding an array of supplementary services with the hukkah such as snacks and drinks. Our teams in various areas of the commissionerate are on the lookout to take action against people operating such facilities,” Kumar added.

“The primary objective of cracking down against illegal sale of hukkah is to spread awareness about the adverse effects of smoking,” said Kumar.

Police said in several of these cases it was seen during the raids that the customers at the hukkah bars were mostly youngsters coming from affluent families of the city.

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