Year-long campaign against alcohol and drug abuse planned

Ernakulam is one of the most liquor-addicted districts

Ernakulam, which has been identified as one of the most liquor-addicted districts in the country, has 2,300 hotspots of alcohol and drug abuse, as per a survey conducted by the Social Justice Department in association with Kudumbashree. The findings of the survey were discussed at a meeting here recently to mark the end of the month-long intense awareness campaign under the Union government’s Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan to salvage the district’s reputation. “We are planning to actively intervene in these hotspots in coordination with excise, police, and health departments, Kudumbashree, and local bodies in a year-long campaign starting from August 15. We are hopeful that it will help curtail the availability of alcohol and drugs in these hotspots and strip the district of its dubious distinction,” said Subair K.K., District Social Justice Officer.