ZIRO, 30 Aug: Around 1,700 people, including students and teachers from various schools and colleges, participated in a drug awareness programme under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (NMBA), organised at Saint Claret College, Ziro (SCCZ) here in Lower Subansiri district by the Apatani Women Association Ziro (AWAZ), in collaboration with the district administration and the Social Justice & Empowerment Department, on Saturday.
The programme aimed at sensitising the youths and community stakeholders to the growing menace of substance abuse and its harmful impacts on health and society.
Key topics deliberated during the awareness sessions included signs and symptoms of drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), and the importance of early identification of victims and users for timely counselling and treatment.
The resource persons for the programme were TRIHMS psychiatrist Dr Misso Yubey and Gyati Takka General Hospital Ziro pulmonologist Dr Koj Yasa, who shared their expertise and experiences on the subject, stressing the need for vigilance, community support, and professional intervention in tackling drug abuse.
Deputy Commissioner Oli Perme in her speech stressed on the need for collective responsibility to curb the drug menace and create awareness about HIV/AIDS among the youths.
AWAZ general secretary and Tax & Excise Superintendent Takhe Riniyo Nani spoke on the COTPA, 2003 and its provisions regarding the prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade in cigarettes and other tobacco products.
As part of the awareness campaign, posters on drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and the ill-effects of smoking were distributed to all schools with instructions to display them prominently on school walls to reinforce the message among students.
Among others who attended the programme were AWAZ president Dr Subu Tasso Kampu, ICDS Deputy Director Dani Yami, SCCZ Principal Fr Allwyn Mendoz, and the executive members of the AWAZ. (DIPRO)
