Morigaon, Feb 21: A district-level coordination meeting on the National Tobacco Control Programme was held at the conference hall of the Morigaon district commissioner's office on Tuesday.

The meeting was chaired by DC Devashish Sharma in presence of SP Hemanta Kr Das, CEO of Morigaon Zila Parishad Sanjib Bora, ADC Anusuya Sharma, joint director of health services Dr Arun Kumar Nath, inspector of schools Apurba Thakuria, and representatives of the principals of Jagiroad College, Mayong College, and Moirabari College. The meeting was convened by Dr Jaya Prabha Bodo, district nodal officer of the Morigaon District Tobacco Control Cell.

Many important issues related to the initiative for a tobacco-free Morigaon district were discussed by the attendees. DC Devashish Sharma asserted all the government offices and educational institutions must be declared as tobacco-free zones and the maintenance of the tobacco-free zone status will be the sole responsibility of the head of the institution or the office concerned.

SP Hemanta Kr Das in formed the representatives of educational institutes present in the meeting that all the principals or headmasters of colleges and schools will have to comply with Section 6B of The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (COTPA) Act, 2023, and anyone failing to comply will be fined as per provisions of this Act.

A decision was also taken that all gaon panchayat offices must be declared as tobacco-free zones and this status must be maintained.

Dr Boro, district nodal officer, made an audio-visual presentation on the adverse effects of tobacco on health in the light of the COTPA Act and said that it ought to be a matter of concern for all that tobacco addiction is rising among the youth. She added that the use of tobacco is one of the major causes of oral and other types of cancer, along with diseases like hypertension, diabetes, etc.

At the end of the meeting. DC Devashish Sharma urged upon all present in the meeting to work for the greater cause of society and to be warriors in this crusade against tobacco addiction.

It may be mentioned that as per a directive of the DC, Dr Boro checked the blood pressure levels of all the participants in the meeting and a few were detected with high BP levels. High BP is one of the silent killers in to-day's world and Dr Boro urged upon everyone beyond 30 years of age to opt for regular health check-ups as a preventive measure.

Jail term: Meanwhile, in another development, the Morigaon POCSO court on Wednesday sentenced a man to eight years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl. The accused, Babul Debnath, was found guilty under Section 8 of the POCSO Act and Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to reports, the incident occurred two years ago in Paschim Jonbil village under the Jagiroad Police Station. A case was registered at the Jagiroad PS (no. 351/2023) based on a complaint lodged by the minor girl's family.

After investigating the case, the Jagiroad police filed a chargesheet at the Morigaon POCSO court and finally special judge NA Ahmed convicted Debnath and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000