Int'l day against drug abuse held

Various programmes were organised in the city, on Friday, to create awareness against drugs as a part of International Day Against Drug Abuse.

A jatha involving policemen, traffic wardens, NCC cadets, volunteers from NGOs like V-Care, Prerana Hospital and Srinidhi Foundation, students from JSS Nursing College, Kautilya Vidyalaya among others took part in the rally that was flagged off in front of Kote Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Mysuru Palace north gate.

Unmindful of intermittent rains, the rallyists, holding placards and banners, passed through K R Circle, Sayyaji Rao Road, Old Bank Road, Gandhi Square and Chikkagadiyara Circle, before culminating at the launch point.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Dr Anjali from Apollo BGS Hospitals said, on an average seven persons are falling victim to narcotics. “In the last three years, between 2011 and 2014, 25,000 drug addicts have lost lives in the nation. However, the number of drug addicts willing to come out of it is less, with hardly three per cent of the addicts treading the path of rehabilitation,” she said.

Dr Anjali attributed the rise in the number of drug addicts to financial independence among young persons. “So, parents should be cautious while giving pocket money to their wards. Consumption of tobacco and liquor will lead to cancer and damage liver respectively,” she added.

Police Commissioner B Dayananda said, fighting drugs is not the job of the police alone, as the society has to play a key role by creating awareness against the abuse.

At another programme held at Central Prisons Mysore, Deputy Director for Women and Child Development K Radha said, youths in the age group of 12 to 18 years are vulnerable to narcotics.