Vimukthi Begins House Visits to Create Anti-drug Awareness among Children

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
The state Department of Excise, Vimukthi Mission and Kudumbasree Mission today launched a programme to visit homes to create awareness among the children about the dangers of alcohol and narcotics as part of the ongoing month-long awareness programme coinciding with the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Home visits were organised in the city today to coincide with the birthday of former President A P J Abdul Kalam.

With ‘Say No To Drinks, Say No To Drugs’ as the message, the workers of the two Missions, along with civic-body councillors, interacted with children in 150 households each of Vallakkadavu and Poonthura wards in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

Besides speaking to the children about the harmful effects of drugs, the team also gifted them Dr Kalam’s books and pamphlets carrying messages against use of narcotics.

The round was led by Assistant Excise Commissioner P.K. Jayaraj, who is also the manager of the Vimukthi Mission (Thiruvananthapuram District), Councillors Shajitha Nasser and Mary Gypsy, Thiruvananthapuram CDS Vice Chairperson Padmaja S, Thiruvananthapuram Excise Circle Inspector C.K. Anilkumar and Excise Range Inspector V.G. Sunil.

Vimukthi Mission and Kudumbashree volunteers will together continue the anti-drug drive by visiting houses in the coming days in other areas of the corporation and local bodies of Thiruvananthapuram district.

The house visits are being organised jointly by the State Excises Department, the Vimukthi Mission and Kudumbasree Mission as part of the anti- drug addiction awareness campaign organised in the coastal areas of the district. Messages of the Mahatma, who waged a relentless battle against drug addiction through his constructive programmes, will be propagated on a mission-mode as part of the campaign that primarily targets the youth.

Apart from this, the Excise Department’s ‘Unarvu’ Project that aims to curb the use of drugs among schoolchildren is already underway involving schoolteachers, parents, excise officials, representatives of local bodies and residents besides traders and business people of the area. The efforts focus on routing the minds of students away from drug addiction and into creative venues such as arts and sports.