Pinarayi to launch anti-drug campaign today

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is brand ambassador of the campaign. Classroom debates will be held in schools and colleges on the topic of drug abuse

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the first phase of the State’s wide-ranging campaign against drug menace and substance abuse through online conference on October 6 at 10 a.m. Arrangements have been put in place to broadcast the inaugural address through the KITE Victers channel to venues across the State. Related events will be organised in all educational institutions including professional colleges, in ward centres and in libraries.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president and former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the brand ambassador of the campaign. People’s representatives, various local organisations, personalities from the field of arts and sports will participate in the events in each area. Committees have been formed at the local, district and State level as well as at the school-level to prevent the proliferation of drugs.

Excise Minister M.B.Rajesh, who will inaugurate the district-level events in Thrissur, has appealed to all Malayalis to join in the fight against drugs. Ahead of the campaign launch, the Chief Minister and the Ministers had held discussions with the representatives of various political parties, socio-religious organisations, traders, youth, students and teachers’ organisations.

Classroom debates will be held in schools and colleges on the topic of drug abuse as part of the campaign. The training programme for teachers to create awareness among students on drug menace, based on a module prepared by the The State Council of Education Research and Training(SCERT), is ongoing. Awareness programmes will be organised for parents in all education institutions on October 6 and 7 under the aegis of the parent teachers’ associations. Similar programmes will be organised from October 8 to 12 in clubs and residential associations.

The Kudumbashree will organise anti-drug programmes in all its neighbourhood groups on October 9. The Department for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will also organise programmes. On October 14, anti-drug campaign will be organised in bus stands, markets, town centres and railway stations under the aegis of traders’ organisations. On October 4, events will be held in all wards. The campaign will be focussed on migrant worker camps from October 15 to 22. The Fisheries department and Coastal Police will lead the campaign in the State’s coastal belt from October 16 to 24.

Lamps will be lit in public places and homes on October 24 evening. Various awareness events have also been planned through National Cadet Corps, National Service Scheme and clubs. The first phase of the campaign will end on November 1, with the formation of human chain in educational institutions. The excise and the police will step up enforcement activities as part of the campaign.

The campaign, which was supposed to be launched on October 2, was postponed following the passing away of CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.