Satish Jarkiholi urges youth to stay away from drug addiction

Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Tuesday said that youth should focus on their academic goals without getting caught up in momentary attractions.

“The youth should stay away from drug addiction and work towards making their future bright. Their focus should be aimed at getting quality education and developing discipline and good morals,” he said.

He was speaking after inaugurating ‘Beda Bro’, an event to create awareness against drug addiction, in Belagavi. It was jointly organised by the Police Department and the district administration at Sangolli Rayanna College.

“Drug addiction can have a serious impact on an individual's health, education, family and society. The Police Department, educational institutions, parents and the public should work together to eradicate the drug menace from the society,” the Minister said.

He said that young people are the precious wealth of the country. A healthy and addiction-free society can be built by directing their energy and capabilities in positive ways,” he said.

Police Commissioner Borase Bhushan Gulbarao said that an estimated 18 crore people in the country and about 17 lakh people in Karnataka were suffering from drug addiction and drug-related problems. The State government’s anti-drug abuse campaign was launched with a view to expose youth to such long-term implications of the issues. These programmes would be extended to the taluk level in the coming days, he said.

He said that students should develop good values along with education and stay away from vices like drugs so that they become good citizens.

“In the past, society and parents used to carefully prevent vices among children. But now the attitude towards cigarette consumption is seen as a normal practice which is unfortunate,” Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan said, advising the youth to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Superintendent of Police K. Ramarajan said, “The fight against drug abuse required ‘the cooperation of all sections of society. Controlling this is not only the responsibility of the Police Department, but also of parents, teachers, students and the general public,” he said.

Documentaries from the ‘Beda Bro’ and ‘Rise’ campaigns were screened at the programme to create awareness among students about the ill-effects of drugs.

MLA Asif (Raju) Sait, Vice-Chancellor of Channamma University C.M. Thyagaraja, lecturers, students and officials from various departments were present.