Mangaluru, Dec 14: In a positive development, the mosques in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada have joined the battle against drug abuse in the region by taking up the cause to create awareness among the youth against the deadly menace.
Addressing a press conference in the city, Syed Mohammed Beary, the chairman of Bearys Group, said that the mosque committees will focus on educating the parents, the students and the youth on the issue and create awareness in every family under their jurisdiction.
The 100-days campaign will include a series of awareness programs involving all the Masjid Jamaths and committees across the region. The drive will run under the guidance and supervision of Twaqa Ahmed Musliyar and Bekal Ibrahim Musliyar, the two prominent religious leaders in the coastal Karnataka. The Dakshina Kannada District and Mangaluru City units of Karnataka Police also have offered their full cooperation to this campaign.
He expressed hope that this campaign would achieve its goal and would be able to free the region from the stigma of addiction.
He also urged the active participation of the leaders and representatives of all the communities, parties, educational institutions, NGOs, Social activists and various student and Youth organisations, Social Media influencers in this campaign.
Deadly menace
Drug abuse is not only harmful but also is known for its horrible consequences. Apart from destroying the body, mind and the career of the addict, it ruins relationships, family and everything associated with the addict. Alarmingly, the illegal drug trade is one of the largest businesses in the world today.
Unfortunately Dakshina Kannada District, especially its headquarter Mangaluru and adjoining towns and villages have recently seen alarming rise in the peddling and abuse of drugs. The number of students and youth falling prey to this menace is rising rapidly. As evident from media reports and the experience of educational institutions and NGOs working to curb this evil, the situation here is as serious as in Punjab. If effective measures are not taken without losing any more time, Mangaluru is likely to earn the distinction of being the capital of narcotics in the state.
The most tragic part of the story is that the curse of drugs abuse has already found inroads into our rural areas wherein school going students are being exposed to the addiction. Students of sixth and seventh grades including girls are falling victims to addiction. The situation is turning worse with each passing day. As is well known, the business of addiction always results in swift increase of crime rate. This has a direct impact on the safety and security of the people in the region.
Normally almost every parent believes that their kids are never likely to fall victims to addiction. Such an illusion prevents them from being vigilant. There is an immediate need to educate people in the region about the power and networks of the drug mafia, the cunning ways used by them to promote extremely dangerous addictive substances and the grave consequences of addiction. Temples, Mosques, Churches and all such places revered by the masses can play a great role in educating the masses and making the entire society vigilant against the devastating epidemic of addiction.
Mohammad Haneef, General Secretary Zeenath Bakhsh Juma Masjid, B M Mumtaz Ali, General Secretary, DK unit of Karnataka Muslim Jamaat and Riyaz Ahmed Kannur, president, Talent Research Foundation were present among others.
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