The Department of Social Work, Pondicherry University, in association with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), formally launched "Towards a Drug-Free Puducherry District" — a community-based project under the Ministry's Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan campaign. The project is being implemented over a period of 12 months to address the problems of substance use and alcoholism in the Puducherry District, according to a release from the university.
The scope of the project includes a fourfold approach to build a sustainable intervention as outlined by R Nalini, Professor and Principal Investigator. The project includes preventive education for students, sensitisation, training and capacity building for faculty, authorities and support staff of higher educational institutions in Puducherry, and community outreach for peer education and support services in local communities.
Vice-Chancellor Gurmeet Singh noted the issues of substance and alcohol abuse, especially among the youth in Puducherry and the need for well-informed interventions that engage the youth productively through education. He stressed the need for grassroots research to meet the specific needs of the communities against substance use and addiction. C Udaya Kumar, Secretary to the Government of Puducherry (Social Welfare) delivered the special address, emphasising the need for interventions with students, parents and faculty of higher education institutions and recommended coordination between colleges, government authorities, healthcare professionals and police personnel to work together to reduce the demand for drugs, especially among children and youth.
Radhika Chakravarthy, Joint Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, extended her support for the project. Felicitations were offered by Basant Kumar Tiwary, Dean (Research) and BB Mohanty, Dean, School of Social Sciences and International Studies, Pondicherry University, Iftekhar Alam, Assistant Professor & Co-Principal Investigator offered the words of thanks