First time in India, an educational institution will tie up with an agency of law enforcement to educate people against drugs through college festivals. Its none other then Bhavan’s College located in Andheri west (Mumbai). The college has teamed up with the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) where its festival is supposed to be held in January and there will be different competitions on ‘Drug Free Campus’ theme.
The school said it chose to embrace the subject in the wake of being inspired by an address held by an ANC officer on the horrors of the new killer drug, mephedrone or MD.
As per the school’s National Service Scheme (NSS) in-control Reena Dhonde-Patel, the students were moved by a discussion by senior PI Suhas Gokhale on the Drugthat has killed a few city youth over the recent months.
“The students were impressed with Mr Gokhale’s talk and even asked him several questions. Many misconceptions pertaining to narcotic abuse and MD consumption were cleared and we also saw a heavy footfall with a packed lecture hall,” said Ms Reena.
Mr Gokhale on his part said the celebration would give the police a chance to collaborate with the scholarly world past the visitor address discussion.
“An official theme always generates more curiosity and therefore more attention compared to a lecture. Although my talk and presentation at the college did have a heavy footfall, a festival theme takes the message to more students since there will be other colleges participating in it as well,” he said.
The two-day celebration on January 19 and 20 will see officers and staff from the Azad Maidan unit of the ANC standing with hoardings and banners against narcotics in the midst of substantial festivals.
They will have various competitions like poster making, slogan writing, street plays and short film making where too the students would have to make their work based on the central theme of steering clear from drugs,” he said.