At AIIMS, pouches strictly remain wrapped, no kharra stains on campus

Nagpur: A government hospital’s job is to offer de-addiction remedies as far as diseases caused by consumption of tobacco and its products are concerned. Yet, the ‘red kharra spray’ on walls, staircase and corners at public health department’s hospitals or medical colleges cuts a sorry figure about not only de-addiction but also keeping the campus tobacco-free.
Standing out in the kharra capital of India, AIIMS-Nagpur has set a fine example of keeping its campus free of kharra stains and dealing with the public nuisance.
Since Day 1, the premier institute has followed zero tolerance policy towards tobacco in letter and spirit. Reaching to the root cause of the nuisance, the medical college has kept tobacco out by way of frisking relatives suspected of carrying kharra inside the wards and seizing them instantly. “Once the pudiya (pouch) is kept outside, public spitting automatically comes under control,” an official said.
With an average daily footfall of 1,200, the weekly confiscation of kharra and other tobacco products runs into hundreds. In the last two weeks, over 500 kharra pouches, 20 gutkha sachets, 10 bidi bundles and four cigarette packs were seized from relatives and patients visiting hospital in Mihan. In many cases, liquor bottles too have been seized and destroyed.
“We are proud to announce AIIMS-Nagpur a tobacco free zone. The institute has formulated and adopted policies and guidelines to make the hospital campus a tobacco-free zone. The policy warrants that no person should possess/sell/distribute or consume tobacco/tobacco products in any form on the hospital campus. Designated screening points manned by our trained security personnel, screen entrants regularly for tobacco/tobacco products, which is then confiscated at the outset and destroyed appropriately,” a note from the director’s office read.
The note added, “The record of confiscated tobacco/tobacco products is well-maintained. Any person found consuming tobacco products/spitting within the hospital campus is levied a fine of Rs200. This is in accordance with the COTPA Act.”
When TOI spoke to authorities from government medical colleges and public hospitals in the city regarding compliance of COTPA Act, they put the onus on the local administration. “The issue has been discussed many times but we are not empowered to take action against the culprits. It either comes under the purview of the district collector or the civic chief. We can’t subject relatives to frisking or penalize them for spitting on the campus,” said an officer from one of the medical colleges.