While the strict enforcement of the smoking ban by Bajaj Nagar police along the VNIT–Bajaj Nagar Plaza Road has been welcomed by the public, the key culprits—encroached shops illegally selling cigarettes—appear to be enjoying the administration’s leniency.
Following a series of complaints regarding public smoking, crowding, and littering, Bajaj Nagar police have launched a crackdown on public smoking in the area. Violators are being fined under the COTPA Act, as the stretch has emerged as a popular youth hangout. The drive aims to reclaim the recently beautified space for pedestrians and recreational use, with significant challans issued under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act.
However, the core problem remains unaddressed. Encroached shops selling cigarettes continue to operate freely, fuelling the very nuisance the police action seeks to curb. Despite repeated anti-encroachment drives by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), the encroachers reportedly return soon after enforcement teams leave.
This not only contributes to persistent public smoking and drinking but also poses serious safety concerns, as anti-social elements are often seen indulging in public drinking in the area. In one instance, a shopkeeper has allegedly modified a roadside tree to store coffee machines and other shop materials. Adding to residents’ woes, streetlights along this stretch remain non-functional, raising further safety concerns.
While the police continue their crackdown on miscreants, the administration has so far failed to arrive at a sustainable and concrete solution to ensure proper public behaviour, sanitation, and safety on VNIT–Bajaj Nagar Road.
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