WAR ON DRUGS | ‘Government should train teachers as drug counsellors’

Anantnag: On Thursday afternoon, when former Advisor to Governor and retired IAS officer, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai stood up behind a wooden lectern to deliver his speech about drug abuse, a jam-packed audience sitting under a canopy on the premises of Delhi Public School, Anantnag was all ears.

“Drugs ruin lives,” said Ganai, who was the guest of honour on the occasion.

The audience was a heady mix of former bureaucrats, officers, concerned citizens, psychologists, religious scholars, academics, and students.

They had come together to raise awareness about the rising drug abuse in Kashmir.

Captivating speeches, presentations, skits, and poetry dominated the seminar-cum-awareness programme organised by the Delhi Public School, Anantnag.

Ganai said that moral education could play a crucial role in keeping the scourge of drugs off the society.

To fight the menace, he said that counsellors should be appointed in all government schools.

“The government should train the general line teachers as counsellors,” he said.

“We are entering into an age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) where technology is influencing and shaping our future,” Ganai said. “Under such circumstances, parents should keep a tab on their children.”

He said that mothers had a more crucial role to play to keep their children away from substance abuse.

“Kids usually open up more to their mothers than their fathers,” Ganai said.

Jammu and Kashmir is caught in the throes of drug abuse.

In March this year, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment apprised the parliament that around 1 million people were consuming different types of drugs in the region.

DIG South Kashmir, Rayees Bhat, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said that there was a need to instill confidence among children.

“Our children lack confidence and our teachers must boost their confidence,” Bhat said.

Addressing the gathering, former Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Commissioner Ghulam Nabi Qasba said that parents should make their children accountable and monitor their activities.

“The parents should pay special attention to their children. They should know how their children spend their pocket money or who their friends are,” said Qasba.

He said that it was also important for the parents to know how their children were spending their leisure time.

Prominent religious scholar Moulana Muhammad Maqbool Akhrini drew the attention of the gathering towards the importance of life.

He said that harming one’s own life by taking any intoxicant was strictly prohibited in Islam.

Akhrini said that the drugs were devouring our young generation.

“It is the collective responsibility of the society to fight against the menace of drugs,” Akhrini stressed.

Former IAS officer Ghulam Jeelani Nehhvi said, “If we cannot contain the drugs at this stage, a disaster is waiting to happen.”

He said that tobacco consumption was a doorway to drugs.

“The young generation should keep themselves away from cigarettes. Smoking marks the beginning of drugs,” Nehvi said.

Programme Coordinator Child Wellbeing and Wellbeing Centre, IMHANS, Kashmir, Aqsa Altaf gave a presentation about substance abuse in Kashmir. She also shared some thought-provoking case studies with the audience.

Aqsa said that children having easy access to money could lead them astray. She cautioned against equating money with love.

Aqsa said that some horrific crimes were linked to substance abuse.

“There are instances where drug abuser kill their parents and also don’t have any remorse for it,” she said.

Aqsa said that drugs had a disastrous impact on mental health.

Principal of DPS, Anantnag, Nighat Fatima underscored the role of moral education in keeping the menace at bay.

She said that drugs were more dangerous than falling to bullets.

The students also read poetry and enacted a skit to highlight the scourge of drugs.

A newsletter ‘Sangam; was also released on the occasion.