GUWAHATI, June 26 - International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed here today under the aegis of the State social welfare department.
An event was held in the city on the occasion. Social Welfare Minister Pramila Rani Brahma was the chief guest of the function.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Brahma underlined the fact that drug abuse is the root cause behind the rising trend of social crimes.
She laid emphasis on an integrated approach by all sections of society to curb the menace of drug abuse. Brahma added that this can be achieved through means like introducing yoga in school curriculum, proper moral education to the youths and organising awareness programmes in remote areas, among other things.
The programme was also attended by Dr Jayanta Das, consultant psychiatrist. He said that depression is a serious cause of concern in the present times. Most of the people suffering from depression resort to drug addiction as a source of relief, which in turn increases the incidence of the disease and even leads to death, he added.
The daylong programme consisted of technical sessions by different stakeholders, speeches by students from colleges and interaction with people who were once addicted to drugs or alcohol but later succeeded in coming out from the addiction with the help of family, doctors and NGOs.
Earlier in the morning, streetplays were performed in different locations of the city by different NGOs and an awareness rally was taken out by the Narcotic Control Bureau as part of the programme.
