Mumbai women cops turn tobacco shops near schools into kirana stores

Told to either relocate or transform their businesses, 24 shopkeepers chose latter option

Eight women police officers from Mumbai Police’s Zone VII are leading a campaign to make school and college campuses tobacco-free—in the process, transforming local businesses by helping 24 shop owners transition to selling fresh vegetables, stationery and eatables, ensuring they don’t lose their livelihood. Under the drive, launched in January, 47 tobacco-selling shops operating within a 100-metre radius of schools have been shut down.

The campaign, run by Nirbhaya Squad officers from Ghatkopar, Pant Nagar, Vikhroli, Parksite, Bhandup, Kanjurmarg, Mulund, and Navghar police stations, also includes awareness programmes for school staff and students to reinforce a tobacco-free environment. The officers involved are PSI Tai Dongre from Ghatkopar, PSI Sonali Pawar from Pant Nagar, PSI Vinaya Tawde from Vikhroli, PSI Smita Bhise from Parksite, PSI Savita Jadhav from Bhandup, PSI Shital Babar from Kanjurmarg, PSI Pooja Dhaktode from Mulund and PSI Dhanshree Kadam from Navghar police station.

A shop that used to sell tobacco products near an educational institute in Vikhroli

In December 2018, while serving in the Vasai Division, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vijaykant Sagar led a tobacco-free campaign aimed at curbing students’ exposure to tobacco products. Now serving as DCP of Zone VII, Mumbai Police, Sagar has introduced a similar initiative in the city.

Goal of programme

“Our priority is to eliminate children’s access to tobacco and tobacco-based products near schools and colleges. Easy availability is what encourages consumption, and we wanted to put an end to that,” Sagar explained. As part of the initiative, two anti-smoking and anti-tobacco boards have been installed in the 257 schools and 38 colleges across the zone, which is mandatory as per the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).

The Tobacco-Free School and College Campus campaign is a Mumbai Police initiative, with each police station in Zone VII responsible for ensuring compliance within its jurisdiction. Officers visited every school and college, inspecting the 100-metre radius for shops selling tobacco-related products.

A session is held in a school under the Tobacco-Free School and College Campus campaign. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

During the drive, police identified a total of 187 registered shops and vendors selling tobacco products within restricted areas in Zone VII and issued them notices for the removal of such items. “These 187 shops were registered businesses, meaning we could not take direct action against them. However, we found 114 illegal, unregistered shops, against which enforcement action was taken,” said Sagar.

Two options

Before taking strict action, the campaign squad first engaged with shop owners, conducting brief awareness sessions on the impact of tobacco consumption among children and teenagers.

“They had two choices—either relocate or transform their business, a concept known as ‘Vyasaya Parivartana’ in Marathi,” explained PSI Pooja from Mulund police station. “We encouraged shop owners to switch to high-demand alternatives like stationery or baked goods such as cakes, biscuits and chocolates, instead of selling tobacco and cigarettes. To our surprise, many agreed and willingly transformed their businesses.”

(From Left) PSI Savita Jadhav from Bhandup police station, PSI Tai Dongre from Ghatkopar police station, PSI Dhanshree Kadam, Navghar police station, PSI Shital Babar, Kanjurmarg police station, PSI Smita Bhise from Parksite police station, PSI Vinaya Tawde from Vikhroli police station, PSI Sonali Pawar from Pant Nagar police station, PSI Pooja Dhaktode, Mulund police station

Other women officers leading the campaign also assisted vendors in the transition. In several cases, paan-tapris were converted into food stalls selling idlis and vadas, while others shifted to selling fresh vegetables, benefiting schoolchildren and the local community.

According to police data, in the past three months, 509 shop owners in Zone VII have been prosecuted for violating Section 6(b) of the COTPA Act, which prohibits the sale of tobacco products within a 100-metre radius of educational institutions. 

187
No registered shops found selling tobacco products near schools and colleges in Zone VII since January

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