Jaipur: Governor Haribhau Bagde Wednesday directed vice-chancellors of state universities to adopt villages and make them drug-free as part of a comprehensive campaign under the Centre’s Nasha Mukt Bharat initiative.Chairing a meeting with vice-chancellors, Bagde said universities should identify villages and areas with a high prevalence of substance abuse and undertake targeted awareness and intervention programmes. He also called for action against narcotics trafficking around university campuses.“Individuals selling narcotics near university campuses must be identified. Special campaigns should be launched to identify and apprehend those involved in drug trafficking and luring youth into addiction,” the Governor said.Bagde asked universities to integrate the vision of a “drug-free village” into their village adoption programmes. He advised faculty and students to visit villages, engage with local community leaders, monitor drug abuse and trafficking, and work in coordination with the police to curb the menace.Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a drug-free India, the Governor directed universities to encourage maximum registration on the My Bharat Portal. He said a 100-week programme under the portal would be rolled out to strengthen the anti-drug campaign through rallies, workshops and awareness drives. Universities were instructed to organise sustained activities to support the campaign and increase youth participation in the initiative.
