Minister for Education C. Ravindranath has emphasised on the role of students in addressing the proliferation of drug abuse among young generations in the State.
He was inaugurating a seminar on ‘Consumption of narcotic drugs among students: implications and solutions,’ organised by the Kerala Police and Information and Public Relations Department (PRD) on Tuesday in connection with the Gandhi Jayanti week celebrations.
Mr. Ravindranath explained to the gathering, which comprised mainly Student Police Cadets (SPC), that drug abuse was a grave social problem that had affected several parts of the world owing to the growing inequality between the wealthy and the disadvantaged sections.
The drug lobby had been making attempts at luring unsuspecting people, mostly the youth, towards narcotic substances.
Spurt in cases
The situation was no different in Kerala, where there had been a spurt in narcotic cases in the recent times.
He pointed out that the consumption of addictive substances affected the central nervous system and their continuous use could have serious repercussions such as paralysis.
The student community must be resolute and put up a united front in tackling the menace.
Unhealthy eating habits should also be avoided, he told the students.
Delivering the presidential address, State Police Chief Loknath Behera said the State would soon have five child-friendly police stations. The initiative would be in line with the guidelines of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in this regard.
Additional Director General of Police (South Zone) B. Sandhya delivered the keynote address.
City Police Commissioner G. Sparjan Kumar, PRD additional director P. Vinod and Police Information Centre deputy director P.S. Rajasekharan spoke on the occasion.
