Villupuram: A village in the District of Villupuram, which prohibits sales and consumption of tobacco products including cigarettes four decades ago, continues to provide examples for other villages to become tobacco free.
A clear majority of the three generations of the villagers of Elusempon, 20 km from the city of Villupuram, did not use tobacco products.
Some villagers who use tobacco products respect the dictates of the elders, past four decades ago, and come out of the village to consume it.
There were more than 570 families with 2,700 people in the village, which fell under the Vikkaravandi assembly segment in the Villupuram district.
The villagers ask people to visit hamlets also not to smoke or consume tobacco products within the village limits.
“The fire accident caused by Bud Beedi was poorly discarded by smokers destroyed several straw houses, destroying the properties of poor villagers four decades ago.
It forced the village elders to enforce the ban on sales and consumed tobacco products in the village.
Since then, three generations The next person appreciates orders and maintains a tobacco-free identity of the village.
You can see posters in all parts of the village stating that smoking is prohibited in the hamlet, “said P Pushparaj, 28, who runs a digital weighing bridge unit.
The villagers said there were several people in every generation that made a hue and cried on a ban on tobacco products.
“There will be some people who will not fall in line and follow public discipline.
Because we are stubborn, not to give up on their tantrums, they begin to adapt and go out of the village to smoke or consume tobacco products.
Most visitors are surprised when we object to Tobacco products that eat it but then appreciate our decisions, “said a shopkeeper.
And again, there are several examples that cause the argument and a heated village population and visitors to exchange blows.
Although Elusempon maintains the image of a tobacco-free village for 40 years, has not been recognized by the Government Government or state government or non-governmental organizations.
The village population section recalls that the final Prime Minister of Rajiv Gandhi, about learning about the village, has expressed his desire to visit him.
“He (Rajiv Gandhi) even sent his representatives to the village to ascertain whether their tobacco products and consumption were prohibited,” said Pushparaj.