Excise gives youngsters a wake-up call

Department will open a de-addiction counselling centre on Monday

March 05, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:36 am IST - Kozhikode:

The Excise Department will open a de-addiction counselling centre for students at its Puthiyara range office, near here, on Monday.

The centre part of its ‘Ini Njan Unaratte’ (Let me wake up now) awareness campaign and will function with the support of a group of trained excise officials. A helpline number — 9400069682 — too will become operational on Monday for the needy students to seek professional telephone counselling or to fix appointments with the excise officials to arrange one-to-one counselling service.

New building

The department will shift the entire de-addiction programmes and counselling services to a more convenient location after identifying a new building with the consent of the district administration. Proposals in this regard will be shortly discussed with the District Collector.

According to the coordinators of the new de-addiction programme, over 70 students from various coastal areas of Kozhikode will benefit from the project initially. Officials say that these students have been found addicted to various tranquiliser drugs and psychotropic substances. The department found them through a special drive conducted on the coastlines of Kozhikode with the support of voluntary organisations.

Garnering support

“Since this initiative is mainly to save teenagers from drug addiction, we are planning to seek the support of all organisations operating in the sector. Office-bearers of the Nainamvalappu Football Fans Association have already come up with their support for identifying more such children,” M.K. Gireesh, Excise Inspector in Kozhikode Range, says.

Parents, teachers and voluntary organisations working for the welfare of children may make use of the centre. Students who would like to get assistance too may approach the centre. Officials say that the details of such students and their families will be kept confidential.

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