GUWAHATI, Aug 28 - �The menace of drug abuse is one of the most challenging issues we face today. It has wide-ranging impacts on the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities, as well as on the security and sustainable development of nations,� said Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi while attending a programme titled �Mukti � an anti-drug campaign��to generate awareness against drug abuse.
Speaking at the event held at the Mama Margret Hall, Don Bosco School, Panbazar, the Governor said that preventing and addressing the challenges posed by drug abuse, in all their complexities, is essential to delivering on the fundamental global pledge enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals: �To leave no one behind.�
Prof Mukhi also said that students who fall prey to drug abuse fail to realise that the consumption would have severe impacts on their physical and mental health � they would start experiencing mental disorder, their intelligence level would decrease, they would get deadly diseases and it would untimely lead to death.
The Governor further stressed that the government agencies should play a key role in reducing the availability of drugs so that the youths do not have access to them. The government with its men and machinery should work to combat the menace.
He also emphasised that ample care should be taken from the families to read the behaviour of children. Parents should encourage discussion and create an environment in which their wards feel free to discuss any issue with their parents.
The Governor lauded the efforts of�Rotaract Club of Guwahati Luit�for organising �Mukti� campaign�in the memory of Late Justice Dr BP Saraf, which is aimed at�encouraging society to stand against drug abuse and reach out to the masses for spreading awareness about drug addiction.
Judges of Gauhati High Court Justice AM Bujorbaruah and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Joint Commissioner of Police Devraj Upadhaya, Principal of Don Bosco High School Fr Sebastian Mathew, Bureau Chief of Rashtra Sahara Prashant Sharan, Chairman of �Mukti� Shivam Saraf, among others, also spoke on the evil effects of drugs and urged the group of students present there to create a shield against the drug menace.
