Kolkata Police looks to tackle bane of drug abuse with innovative contest
Kolkata: In a unique move to spread awareness against drug abuse, the Kolkata Police has decided to felicitate citizens in the city who will capture the best photograph related to the theme 'Say No to Drugs'. The move on the part of the law enforcers is significant, as June 26 is observed as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
"June 26 is the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Kolkata Police is committed to fight against the menace of drug and substance abuse that is destroying our youth," Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma posted on his Facebook page.
According to Sharma's post, the theme of the Kolkata Police initiative about drug abuse is "#unitedagainstdrugs".
A citizen willing to participate in the competition will have to take a picture of him/her performing any activity like dancing, reading, running, sleeping, singing, playing, studying, writing, laughing etc. Then it should be put up on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook with the caption - "SAY YES TO (the activity that is seen in the picture eg. reading, running etc); SAY NO TO DRUGS". The picture should then be tagged with #kolkatapolice and #unitedagainstdrugs on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
The three most innovative pictures will be felicitated. It may be mentioned that since June 26 last year, the narcotics cell of the detective department of Kolkata Police has seized illegal drugs worth crores of rupees and arrested important peddlers/kingpins from all over India and abroad.
Apart from this, under the 'Shuddhi' project of Kolkata Police, 133 drug addicts who are into petty crimes due to addiction have been sent for rehabilitation, out of which 21 are leading a drug-free life for more than a year. This also means that they are leading a crime-free life.
The project aims to identify people who are in the habit of petty crimes due to their dependence on drugs and follows them till the point of their rehabilitation into the society's mainstream, where they find acceptance.
In a recent study, it has been found that out of the total number of juveniles under-enquiry booked under different crimes in India, over 87 percent had a history of substance use.
