In the Maoist heartland of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, tribals joyously drink the locally prepared brew as an age-old tradition.
However, over the years, rising urbanisation of some of Bastar’s key districts has brought over a serious dilemma for the law enforcers and it has nothing to do with insurgency.
Scores of youth in the district headquarters Jagdalpur and other urbanised pockets of Bastar have been hooked on to a rather unexpected addiction so typical of large urban cities — substance abuse.
The matter has reached to a level that a short film has been prepared to inform youths and children of Bastar about the ill-effects of intoxication by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) New Delhi, which will now be shown to students in all schools and colleges, through CD s across Bastar region.
The CD of the film has been prepared in the Additional Collector’s office in Jagdalpur district headquarters and sent to district officers of Tribal and Education departments in Bastar region with a directive to copy the CD and distribute it to all high school and higher secondary schools, so that after screening the film, children could be informed about the evils of drug addiction.
According to information available, the NCB has expressed concern over the use of intoxicating and psychic related drugs by youths.
In Bastar, the menace of drug addiction had been growing among the children and youths and they are coming in the grip of intoxication like marijuana, petrol sniffing, cough syrups, tobacco, gutkha and smoking.
Quite recenty, a meeting of government officials was held, in which consent has been made with parents and teachers to be sensitive towards intoxicating drugs, and for that, the NCB prepared the film based on the lethal results of intoxication, official sources here informed.
The District Administration has issued directives to screen the short film in schools for making children aware of the ill effects of drugs, but the greatest problem is resources, official sources pointed out.
There is no arrangement in the school to screen the film now. The question before school principals is that how many CD players should be arranged and how the electricity problem could be solved, as there is no power supply in government schools.
According to District Education Officer Rajendra Jha, a CD was sent by the NCB to inform children about the evil effects of drugs, which would be screened in all schools.