Alumnus Ashutosh Kumar from Uttar Pradesh working for Drug free India

Substance  abuse, which is inclusive of alcohol and other drugs has far reaching adverse effect not only at an individual level, but at familial and societal level as well.  Drugs such as heroin and cocaine that have been available for a long time increasingly coexist with new psychoactive substances (NPS) and prescription drugs. A growing stream of pharmaceutical preparations of unclear origin destined for non-medical use, together with poly drug use and poly drug trafficking, has become a global threat. Rising level of stress, peer pressure, easy accessibility to drugs and negative impact of media, can collectively contribute towards the rising trend in substance abuse.

In a National Survey conducted by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, for the year 2000-2001, it was estimated that about 732 lakh persons in India were users of alcohol and drugs.  

According to the U.N. report the addiction rate of the population in many states of India was 1% to 3% or even more as compared to 0.1% to 0.2 % or even less in most of the countries in Europe and America. The addiction is rampant among the poor, specifically among the street children in the urban areas of Indian cities.

It is high time that people come forward to fight against the drug epidemic gripping several states of our country. Amidst this situation, Vidya Bharati alumnus, Ashutosh Kumar from Pt.Deendayal Upadhyay Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College, Lakhimpur-Kheri, UP, joined an organisation called ‘Foundation for Drug free World, India’ with the aim of fighting the menace of drug abuse in our country.

‘Drug-Free World’ is a non-profit project headquartered in US where volunteers educate the public, especially youth, on the harmful effects of drugs.They conduct free seminars in schools, distribute booklets containing information about adverse effects of drugs, hold essay and poster making competitions, as well as train youth in handling intoxicated persons and getting them sober.

Ashutosh who is a B.Sc student , has made a group of 32-35 like minded friends,called ‘Sobran Lal Verma Memorial Group', under Drug-Free World, where they conduct several activities pertaining to anti drug campaigns such as seminars in colleges, street plays, anti drug workshops for the youth, street rallies etc. Till now they have organised around eight programs this year which had garnered good response from all the participants.

One of the main aims of Vidya Bharati schools is to develop socially conscious youths like Ashutosh, who can help in building a better, brighter India.

If you are a Vidya Bharati alumni with inspirational story to share or want to conduct any type of workshops/ seminars, kindly email us at : info@vidyabharatialumni.org and we will contact you back.