Youngsters to raise awareness against drug addiction in 269 Muktsar villages

Muktsar: Rising to the challenge of fighting drug addiction, youths in Muktsar have taken up the task of spreading awareness against drugs in 269 villages of the district.

"Youth clubs of the district have decided to conduct an array of activities including street plays, debates, painting competitions, slogan writing, prabhat pheri (early morning vigil walks), rallies and cycle marches besides holding block and district-level conventions against addiction to motivate people to shun drugs. The programmes will be coordinated by Nehru Yuva Kendra of the district, working under the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment," said Nehru Yuva Kendra coordinator Jagjit Singh Mann.

Muktsar deputy commissioner Jaskaran Singh said a 15-member advisory committees would be formed at each village. These committees would also include religious and political representatives, school heads and eminent persons from villages and would oversee all activities to highlight ills of substance abuse. 

Apart from this, a 10-member committee of village youths known as 'Peer Educator Volunteers' would also be constituted, which would coordinate with the advisory committee and run awareness campaign. This committee would visit every household and survey drug-consuming habits of various addicts. It would identify addicts and make them go to de-addiction centres.

Besides Muktsar, the campaign is also being run in villages of Fatehgarh Sahib, Barnala, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Moga, Jalandhar, Mohali, Faridkot and Ludhiana, said the DC.