To mark the World No-Tobacco Day, Delhi University held a protest march in collaboration with the Delhi University Students Union, World Lung Foundation, Delhi Police and the market-association of Kamla Nagar-Jawahar Nagar on Friday morning. The participants, including faculty and students of DU marched from Jawahar Nagar to Chhatra Marg, passing colleges like Kirori Mal, Faculty of Management Studies, Ramjas, Delhi School of Economics and stopped at Faculty of Law, where artists of Awahaan, a theatre group, performed a street play on this theme. DU proctor Gurmeet Singh, talking about efforts to curb tobacco sale, said, "Through micro-financing, we give the vendors Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 to help them come with an alternative source of business and income.' Speaking to the media persons and participants, DUSU president Amrita Bahari said, "It would be wrong to speculate that DUSU joined this march to fetch votes, as elections are nowhere near. If it was a political move, the other organisations would not have been present here.' Bahari further said, "We had declared that Delhi University North Campus would be a no smoking zone on Valentine's Day this year. People had asked me if it was just a one time issues. We can see today it's not.' She asked participants to stop anyone they saw from selling or taking tobacco. Asked about the timing of the protest march, held just the week before the DU admission process begins, she said, "We want to educate freshers before they give in to peer pressure.' Many enthusiastic students were een shouting slogans against tobacco. swati.roy@timesgroup.com KICK THE BUTT: Students march with placards during an awareness campaign on the DU campus on the eve of World No-Tobacco Day