Srinagar,4th April: Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Member, Parliament inaugurated SAAM (Substance Abuse Awareness Month), an initiative of The Inner Call, Forum for Evolution, Development and Awareness,
in SKICC, Srinagar today. SAAM would be observed in collaboration with the Central University of Kashmir to reach out to the masses in all the ten districts of Valley to raise awareness on substance abuse.
Appreciating the contribution of The Inner Call in the service of society he recounted many incidents from his childhood and compared them to the experiences of the modern day youth that he had witnessed.
While addressing the audience he said parental care is the backbone of every society but today we lack that care at present in our society. He further said “More and more young souls are being victimized by the false glamour and ill adventure of substance abuse and family bondage is a factor that needs to be recreated. He advised The Inner Call to continue working on similar initiatives.
Chairperson The Inner Call, Roma Wani said that the campaign is aimed to raise awareness about substance abuse and mitigate its ill-effects in our society. She said The Inner Call stringently believes that awareness through the expression of art, music, and culture is the best way to communicate and connect with the masses.
“We will conduct activities like round-table discussions, poster and movie making competitions, street theatre, signature campaign, debates and friendly matches during the month-long campaign”, Wani said.
The legislative/administrative/judiciary systems are in place and yet things do go haywire. Therefore we have to accept our failures and move on with efforts to bring normalcy in existence, She said.
Vice Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir (CUK), Professor Mehraj Uddin Mir said that university would be always at the forefront in serving the society. “Our campus is always open for such awareness campaigns and camps, and there are many factors which are responsible for drug abuse in society,” VC said. He complimented the efforts of The Inner Call and assured full support for this campaign.
Dr. Farooq Abdullah was also given” The Inner Call Falcon Award” for his contribution in the field of social service
The others who spoke at the function were Dr.Yasir Rather, and Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan.
Earlier, a short skit was presented by the local artists about the importance of parental care and its negative aspects which can lead to depression.
The signature Campaign in support of SAAM was also launched at the venue by the Chief Guest. Dr.Farooq Abdullah.
Later, the mementos were presented to guests and dignitaries.
