New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) Calling drugs a proxy war on the nation which targets the youth, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar on Wednesday stressed that the whole society should come forward to fight the menace.
“The menace of drugs has become an endemic. The way it is being spread in school campuses, colleges and university campuses, it’s like a proxy war to destroy our future generations.
“Drugs affect the whole society… Only government cannot do anything. The whole society will have to step forward,” he said.
The minister was speaking at an event held on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Kumar said government cannot fight the drug menace alone and said several social and spiritual organisations like The Art of Living, Brahma Kumaris, Sant Nirankari Mission, Ram Chandra Mission (Daaji), ISKCON and All World Gayatri Parivaar are supporting the government’s Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA).
He also urged the citizens to join the war against drugs.
The NMBA aims to create awareness about the ill-effects of substance abuse among the youth, with special focus on higher education institutes, university campuses, schools and reaching out into the community and garnering community involvement and ownership of the campaign.
According to the ministry, till now, more than 11 crore people have been sensitised on substance use, including over 3.50 crore youth and over 2.32 crore women.
Over 3.35 lakh educational institutions have been reached and a force of 8,000 Master Volunteers (MVs) have been identified and trained, the ministry said in a statement.