The 15-days public awareness campaign ‘Nashe Se Doori Hai Zaroori 2.0’ was inaugurated in a grand programme organised at Shankriti Theatre, Bhanwartal Garden, on Wednesday. The campaign has been started on the initiative of Madhya Pradesh Police, in collaboration with the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities from July 15 to July 30. Special guests on the occasion were Inspector General of Police (Jabalpur Zone), Pramod Verma, DIG (Jabalpur), Atul Singh, Collector Raghavendra Singh, Superintendent of Police Sampat Upadhyay, senior physician Dr. Jitendra Jamdar, Brahma Kumari Varsha Behen, IMA representative Dr Richa Sharma, Additional SP Jitendra Singh, Ayush Jakhad and Anu Beniwal. The event began with floral tributes to Goddess Saraswati and the ceremonial lighting of the lamp. Addressing the gathering, IG Pramod Verma said last year’s anti-drug campaign received overwhelming public support and yielded encouraging results. He urged youngsters to channel their passion into sports, nature and creative pursuits rather than substance abuse. He also shared the helpline numbers 14446 (counselling), 14441 (suicide prevention) and 1933 (mental health), and called upon citizens to contribute towards making India drug-free within the next three years.

 

DIG Atul Singh appealed the youngsters to pursue positive goals such as sports, music and career development, while urging people to immediately report drug syndicates and illegal narcotics activities to the authorities. Collector Raghavendra Singh described addiction as a social evil that affects education, family health, financial stability and overall development. He said a series of awareness programmes for children, youth and adults would be organised over the next 15 days and stressed that tobacco shops should not operate near educational institutions. SP Sampat Upadhyay said drug abuse destroys a person’s ability to think rationally and reiterated that the police would take strict action against those involved in the illegal drug trade. Dr Jitendra Jamdar highlighted the medical hazards of addiction and its links with narco-terrorism while Brahma Kumari Varsha Behen encouraged Rajyoga meditation as a means to overcome addiction. Dr Richa Sharma emphasised that prevention is better than cure and urged young people to adopt healthy habits. On the occasion, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav’s appeal was screened against drug abuse and a street play on de-addiction by artists from Navjyoti De-addiction Centre, Aadharpuri. Following the event, a public awareness rally was flagged off by the senior officials from Sanskriti Theatre. The rally passed through major city roads, spreading the message of staying away from drugs and creating awareness about their harmful effects.