Kozhikode: As the curtains fell on the district revenue kalolsavam at Vadakara, the stage items on Friday put forward a notable effort towards environmental concerns and societal awareness. Students, teachers and authorities involved made a strong stand on those sectors through its two successful ventures during the fest.
The National Service Scheme (NSS) campaign “Kaavalal” received applause from the general public at the grounds. NSS volunteers of Puthoor Government HSS and M.U.M VHSS, Vadakara had held an anti-drug campaign and awareness programme during the festival.
Various innovations and paintings by the students were used to depict their motto.
“The basic idea behind this initiative is to wipe out drugs from students and to teach them about the demerits it will cause in the society,” said NSS Vadakara cluster convener, Abdul Samad. Selected ex-periments of students, which were appreciated in school level, were exhibited.
“An average cigarette yields about 2mg of absorbed nicotine so what will be the condition of a regular smoker?” asked Sameer, NSS coordinator, Puthoor Govt HSS, explaining their nicotine counting experiment.
“Almost every method meant to make smoking safer is a farce. There is only one way to totally reduce the deadly effects of smoking, and that is, not to smoke” added Sameer. The two-day program was inaugurated by Excise SI Anilkumar.
“Students showed mixed expressions of shock and fascination at the same time. We are happy to show and teach them about the adverse effect of drugs” said Adeeb, NSS convener, M.U.M VHSS, Vadakara.
The other venture during the fest was a step towards environmental conservation. Plastic was completely prohibited on the festival premises. The venue was surrounded with waste cans for disposing degradable waste items.
If anyone was caught entering with a plastic water bottle, they were to pay a fine of '20 and hand over the plastic item to the authorities. The money and the plastic item would be given on the way back. The initiative was a huge success and the authorities got to reduce the amount of plastic waste significantly.
Both the initiatives provide a model for the future citizens to adopt a more environment-friendly approach with their ventures.
