Bengaluru, March 5: A drive to bring awareness over drug abuse among students by Bengaluru police has yielded a rich dividend, with the police proving that at least 31 of the 535 students were under drug abuse.
The drive, called ‘Sanmitra’, has been launched by the city police to create awareness among students, and the West Division police conducted the programme in eight PU colleges and two hostels in their jurisdiction.
During the awareness programme, which was done in collaboration with private hospitals, the blood and urine samples of the students were collected. Out of 535 samples, 31 samples turned positive for drug abuse.
Awareness drive targets college students
During a recent drive against drug rackets and peddlers, the peddlers revealed that their primary targets were college students. Instead of arresting the drug users, the police and a few private hospitals launched an awareness programme called ‘Sanmitra’ to educate the students and help them quit drug abuse if they have already started.
As part of the drive, eight colleges and two hostels were selected for this purpose.
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Counselling and rehabilitation focus
Karnataka DG&IGP Dr M A Salim said that the programme was aimed at helping drug addicts, especially in the student sector.
“Though multiple counselling systems to encourage de-addiction are there, very few people approach these facilities. Instead, the police and private hospitals join hands to detect the drug addicts. After identifying the addicts, the counsellors will find out the reason for becoming drug addicts, contact their parents and counsel them as well. At the end, the student would be given all the necessary assistance to come out of the addiction,” Dr Salim added.
