Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Jul 15: Deputy commissioner (DC) Mullai Mugilan asked the officials of the anti-drug cells in educational institutions to put a comprehensive effort to make Dakshina Kannada (DK) free from drugs. To curtail the menace, there is a necessity of comprehensive approach, he said.
He was speaking after the inauguration of the workshop to make Dakshina Kannada district free from drug abuse. The programme was organized at Eric Mathias Hall, in St Aloysius College here on Saturday, July 15.
The DC also recalled that one of his teachers told him that there is a rampant drug menace in the city. He said, “Students from Kerala states too come to the district for education. Hence you should curtail this menace. It is the responsibility of the people in the district and all should join hands to end this problem. Forceful implementations will not help and it may lead to adverse effects. Instead, identifying and helping the victims with counselling will be helpful.”
He also added, “When the district in-charge minister visited the district, several issues on drug menace were raised. To curtail the issue here, the district administration had held several meetings with officials.”
The DC also that educational institutions should not observe an anti-drug day only for a day, but should implement certain measures comprehensively. “The police department and district administration will lend its best support in ending the menace. The parents cannot identify their wards, but the teachers can do this. Hence, by preserving the anonymity of victims, you should work to save the life of youth. Getting addicted to drugs is a psychological disorder and it should be treated at the right time,” he said.
“It is the responsibility of the institutions’ anti-drug cells to effectively implement all measures. Initially, there is a necessity of an internal mechanism to stop this menace and later it will work automatically. The administration cannot do this effectively without the involvement of anti-drug cells in the colleges and public. Hence, it is the institutions’ responsibility to form a strategy and to create a permanent solution to this problem. By August 15, the entire district should be free from drug menace,” the DC said.
He also added that the district administration is planning to implement an online mechanism to end he drug menace. “We have approached a few software companies in this regard,” he said.
Probationary DC Mukul Jain, DHO Dr Kishore Kumar M, Dr Sadishiva Shanbaugh, social worker Lydia Lobo, senior psychiatrist Dr Ravish Tunga, psychiatrist Dr Sunil Kumar, and others were present.