The Haryana government on Monday announced a ban on serving hookah to customers in hotels, restaurants, bars and commercial establishments across the state, including Gurugram.
Gurugram: The Haryana government on Monday announced a ban on serving hookah to customers in hotels, restaurants, bars and commercial establishments across the state, including in Gurgaon. However, the ban will not apply to traditional hookahs used in rural areas, an official statement said. According to an official statement, the ban was announced by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during the concluding ceremony of the state-level ‘Cyclothon’ organized as part of the drug-free campaign in Karnal.
This comes months after Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta called for a ban on hookah serving in hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars and nightclubs in the state. In May, Gupta had written to Khattar in this regard. The Speaker termed hookah smoking in pubs and clubs as a ‘serious problem’ and expressed deep concern over it.
Additionally, to promote cycling and encourage environment-friendly transportation, Chief Minister Khattar announced Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran Programme, according to an official statement. He also said that licensed builders providing housing facilities to individuals will gift a bicycle to the property owner along with property registry papers. It said that in cases where the beneficiary already owns a cycle, HSVP or the builder will offer Rs 3,000 in exchange for the cycle.
Khattar had flagged off the cyclothon on September 1 and it concluded on Monday after covering a distance of about 2,000 km. It has served as a powerful platform to create awareness about the ill effects of drug addiction, the Chief Minister said, adding that though Cyclothon has come to an end, the war against drug addiction is not over. , and public awareness efforts should at least continue. One year to completely eradicate this curse.