Haryana Home and Health Minister Sh. Anil Vij has said that the state government is continuously making efforts to provide right direction to the youth in the state and keeping in mind their upliftment and in this direction, in the budget session of Haryana Legislative Assembly last day, two Important bills were passed.
These bills include the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Haryana Amendment Bill, 2024 and the Haryana Antrarashtriya Gita Jyanti Mela Authority Bill, 2024, so as to keep our youth away from drugs and they can get the art of living an ideal life.
Sh. Vij says that the state Government has taken a serious note that Hookah Bars are serving hookah narghile with tobacco containing nicotine in various Districts of Haryana, which is highly injurious to health of the public at large. Various flavours/herbs are also served by such Hookah Bars.
Many a times, even banned drugs are served in the said hookah bars under the guise of serving flavours/ herbs. Such hookah involves water pipe system and flavoured constituent shisha, heated with charcoal. Due to the misconception of less or no risk associated with it and availability of multiple flavours and less harshness of smoke its usage has increased significantly.
However, smoke of such flavoured hookah contains various toxicants, which are not only harmful for the person smoking but also those nearby due to passive smoking. The cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and, Distribution) Act, 2003 defines smoking under section 3(n) but it does not include smoking of hookah.
In the interest of public at large, a legislation i.e. ‘The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement And Regulation of Trade And Commerce, Production, Supply And Distribution) Haryana Amendment Bill, 2024’ to define and to for prohibit 'hookah bars' and further that no Hookah/ Narghile is served for smoking in Hookah Bars, Hotels, Restaurants, Taverns, or other commercial establishments in the State of Haryana and formatters connected therewith and incidental thereto, is required. Therefore, this bill is presented.
Section 20 Punishment for failure to give specified warming and nicotine and tar contents:-
(1) Any person who produces or manufactures cigarettes or tobacco products, which do not contain, either on the package or on their label, the specified warning and the nicotine and tar contents, shall in the case of first conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both, and for the second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees.
(2) Any person who sells or distributes cigarettes or tobacco products which do not contain either on the package or on their label, the specified warning and the nicotine and tar contents shall in the case of first conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both, and, for the second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to three thousand rupees.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, an 2 of 1974 offence punishable under this Act shall be bailable.Sh. Vij is fully optimistic that after the introduction of this bill, the youth will be prevented from consuming such toxic substances and this bill will work as a beneficial module for the youth to avoid drug addiction.
The Haryana Antrarashtriya Gita Jyanti Mela Authority Bill, 2024
As per the Indian tradition, Lord Krishna delivered the eternal message of Srimad Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Mahabharata in Kurukshetra. This event is believed to have occurred 36 years prior to the beginning of Kalyuga.
Therefore, 5160 years have passed since Lord Krishna delivered the divine message of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. As per the Hindu calendar, Gita Jayanti is celebrated on the 11th day of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Margashirsha, which falls sometimes in November and sometimes in December.
In order to safeguard the ancient heritage and traditions of Kurukshetra, the Haryana Government established the Kurukshetra Development Board on August 1, 1968. The Board has been celebrating the Gita Jayanti Mahotsav in Kurukshetra since 1989.
Since 2016, the Government of Haryana, in collaboration with the Kurukshetra Development Board, has been celebrating the Gita Jayanti Mahotsav as the International Gita Mahotsav. The aim of this Mahotsav is to share the eternal message of peace, harmony and universal brotherhood that is found in the Bhagavad Gita with people around the world.
The Mahotsav is a festival celebrated for eighteen days in Kurukshetra, also know as Dharamakshetra or the land of righteousness. This Mahotsav provides an opportunity to showcase the great cultural, religious, historical and spiritual traditions associated with the region.
Apart from Kurukshetra, the festival is also celebrated for three days throughout the State of Haryana. The Mahotsav has also been organised outside India in places such as the Republic of Mauritius (February, 2019), United Kingdom (August, 2019), Canada (2022) and Australia (2023).
A large number of devotees and people at large, both from the country and abroad, enthusiastically involve themselves with the local people during the period of Mahotsav. Currently, there is no independent authority/body in the State to organize the Gita Jayanti Mahotsav.
The State Government has felt the necessity for the establishment and constitution of a statutory authority in the State for management, regulation and organising the Antrarashtriya Gita Mahotsav in a proper and cogent manner as well as to provide better facilities to the pilgrims and visitors during the Mahotsav period.
The main functions of the Authority will be to popularise and disseminate the teachings of Srimad Bhagavad Gita as well as organise cultural and educational seminars, workshops, fairs, exhibitions and conferences.
Further, it will provide all the essential facilities to the devotees or pilgrims and will have powers & duties as mentioned in the said proposed Bill in the public interest. 6. Therefore, it has been felt necessary to enact the Haryana Antrarashtriya Gita Jyanti Mela Authority Bill, 2024.