MUHS to endeavor to prevent students from getting addicted to tobacco
| Date :08-Sep-2019 |
By Vikas Vaidya :
V-C Dr Dileep Mhaisekar impressed with sincere efforts made by city’s Dr Darshan Dakshindas to promote the project state-wide
Youngsters, both girls and boys, smoking or consuming gutkha has now become a common trend. This has become a social concern as they have been quite open about the ill-habits. They don’t know health hazards of these habits and most of them are not in a mood to listen to anybody. So suggesting them to give up the habit is a very difficult job. Considering this aspects, Dr Darshan Dakshindas, Nagpur’s well-known Dentist and President of Students’ Welfare Committee of Maharashra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) for Vidarbha came up with an idea of organising motivational lectures on the issue. The response from the youngsters was tremendous.
Taking a cue from it, Dr Dileep Mhaisekar, Vice-Chancellor of MUHS, had decided to implement the project throughout the State. Dr Darshan Dakshindas, also a member of Dental Council of India, is a teacher at Government Dental College and Hospital (GDCH), has been working with youngsters since long. The youth wing of the college and Indian Medical Association, Nagpur branch, is led by Dr Dakshindas. Under his leadership, it has won several prizes.
“While working with youngsters, I always come across with some of them who were addicted to tobacco products. I guided some of them who somehow stopped smoking or consuming gutkha. But I wanted something more to be done in an effective manner involving larger chunk of youths. My experience with youngsters is such that if we ask them to do certain things, they don’t listen. In young age, they are a bit revolting. So I thought of something different, which I discussed with Vice-Chancellor Dr Mhaisekar who agreed and decided to support me,” said Dr Dakshindas.
Dr Dakshindas chalked out a plan where he prepared a list of motivational speakers. Initially, about 20 such speakers were identified and the first lecture series was organised recently where Dr Sumant Tekade, noted speaker who explains several aspects of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and well-known Dentist Dr Atul Shringarpure. These two lectures got tremendous response. Dr Mhaisekar got the feedback and he patted on the back of Dr Dakshindas. Dr Mhaisekar was all praise for Dr Dakshindas while talking to ‘The Hitavada’, “My appreciation for Dr Darshan is from the bottom of my heart. I have decided to make this project state-wide and I want Dr Darshan to look after it.
This will act like booster for the youngsters. If we will be able to prevent students from getting addicted, it will serve purpose.” Dr Dakshindas who is known for his sincerity and low profile style of working said, “We have kept the project limited to the colleges affiliated to MUHS including medical, dental, ayurved, homoeopathy, unani, physiotherapy etc. We are trying to get speakers also from medical fraternity who would narrate their own stories. The message of leaving ill-habits goes at the last only in one line, no discourse.”