BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Thursday announced it will ban hookah bars across the state as they have become “a hub for sale and supply of drugs”, besides hinting at a crackdown on drug dealers.
Replying to a query from opposition leader SR Patil in the legislative council, law and state home minister Basavaraj Bommai said police teams recently raided a few bars and unearthed consumption of narcotics by customers. He said the objective of the proposed ban is to check the use of tobacco in various forms and prevent “diseases caused by hookah”.
Min: Policy to rein in anti-social elements
The minister said the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike issues hookah-bar licences and added that he has held a series of meetings with the BBMP commissioner on the proposed ban despite attempts to stall the move. “We are serious about the proposal, and will shut these bars down,” he added.
BJP chief whip Mahantesh Kavatagimath raised the issue of number of drug cases going up in the state. Bommai replied that the government was trying its best to curb drug menace by cracking down on sale and supply of the narcotics. “Apart from enforcing the law, we are bringing in a policy that will tighten the noose around antisocial elements.”
Bommai hinted at amending the rules framed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, besides tracking the movement of people and vehicles in districts bordering Goa, Maharashtra and Kerala to check drug trafficking.
To control alleged use of drugs near educational institutions, Bommai said the government has told school and college managements that they will be held responsible if narcotics were found on campus.