Apparently, the injunctions of the government are not being taken seriously. In fact, flouting them hook, line and sinker seems to have become a norm.
Consider this: government bans smoking in public but the rule is being flagrantly violated. The rogue rings of smoke at the railway station not only signal the violation of the law right under the nose of the authorities but also their deliberate obliviousness towards the inconveniences caused to the non-smoking passengers.
Railways is one of the first departments to have taken the initiative to ban smoking. The ban, however, seems to have gone up in smoke. The passengers can be seen all over the platforms smoking or chewing tobacco. Also, the railways employees like sweepers, coolies, etc who have to be on the platforms throughout the day are finding it very difficult to abide by this rule.
‘‘I run a canteen on a platform and have to there in my kiosk for the entire day. Because I am a habitual smoker I hide under the counter to smoke,’’ said a man on the condition of anonymity.
Otherwise too, the sight of canteen wallas and other railway officials smoking publicly on platforms is not a rare sight. ‘‘Yeh to sarkar kee beinsafi hai. Hame addat hai aur peeyange hi. Agar sarkar ko aisa koi bhee rule chalana hai to pehle unhe cigarette biri bananewali company ko band karna parega. Na biri milegi na hum peeyenge, said another employee at the railway station.
(This is sheer injustice on part of the government. We are habitual smokers and cannot stop smoking. If the government wants to implement any such rule, then they should first ban the companies manufacturing cigarettes and biris. When there will be no cigarette in market then we will not smoke.)
While the local railway officials had nothing to say on this issue, Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur Division, Dharam Singh, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Will anyone alleviate the woes of non-smokers?