MoS Kaushal Kishore to conduct campaign for making India drug-free in 2023

Minister of State Kaushal Kishore is conducting a drive to make the nation free from tobacco, alcohol and drugs.Kaushal's ambition is to celebrate the upcoming year as a drug-free year.

He stated, "Prime Minister Narendra Modiji has identified 272 districts of the country on behalf of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. These are the districts from where the cases of drug abuse are reported in maximum numbers. We have already started working towards it."He urged people from schools and universities to run awareness campaigns against the ill-effects of substance-induced intoxication. He said, "Schools, hospitals, army personnel, CRPF, and people associated with literature are joining this movement and soon this country will be tobacco and alcohol-free."Citing his personal loss, Kaushal said, "My son died due to kidney and liver failure aggravated by intoxication." He was trying to drive the point that alcohol, tobacco and drugs cause damage to a similar extent.The minister apprehended that the consumption of drugs and other intoxicating substances will increase in the final week of the year as youngsters indulge in parties and festivities frequently this season. He said, "From 25 December to 1 January, the drug dealers are trying every possible way to lure the young people by offering them free drinks."He cited that around 5 crore people pledged not to use drugs this year. He hopes in the coming days more people will join the drive. Kaushal said, "It took around two hundred years to gain independence for the country. In similar ways, if people are determined to eradicate drugs from the world, it won't take more than 10 years to achieve that.