More than half of the total districts in Rajasthan have failed to send oath letters to the state government under the anti-tobacco drive which was launched in Bundi in August, a report said.
The drive was launched under National Tobacco Control Programme and each district was to send oath letters to the State Directorate (Medical and Health) as part of the initiative in which girls were asked to make their brothers take a pledge not to consume tobacco on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
A report sent by Additional Director (NHM) Neeraj K Pawan to Chief Medical Health Officers (CHMOs) of the districts, stated that 17 districts, including Ajmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, did not sent a single oath letter or a report card on the awareness activities undertaken.
Jaipur and Kota fared badly in the drive by filling just 906 and 253 oath letters respectively.
Pawan also directed the Chief Medical Officer of Jaipur to serve show cause notice to the in-charge and other employees of National Tobacco Control Programme cell of the city.
The districts of Kota, Jaipur, Hanumangarh, Jodhpur and Daussa also performed poorly, the report said.
Bundi district fared the best in the campaign by filling 6500 oath letters followed by Dungerpur district with 6197 oath letters, the report stated.
“The formats of oath letters were circulated to all primary and community health centers of the district and members of NGOs and voluntary workers of Bhrima Kumari also supported the medical staff to encourage the people to fill oath letter for being tobacco-free on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan,” Chief Medical and Health Officer, Bundi, Suresh Jain said.