Drug menace greatest enemy of younger generations- Pradeep Kumar
He highlighted about infamous Golden Triangle of Golden Crescent, located along the area of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers…..
Shillong
By our correspondent
Speaking on “Policy formulation of NGOs, senior journalist Pradeep Kumar, as resource person of three-day training on ‘NGO management’ during technical session here on Wednesday, pinpointed at most burning problems of NE region, particularly drug menace, insurgency, slavery and racial discrimination which could be taken up through flagship programme of GoI and state Govts.
He highlighted about infamous Golden Triangle of Golden Crescent, located along the area of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers, spread in approximately 950,000 sqkm area, is second the largest opium-producing areas of the world, after Afghanistan. He cited the example of great writer Y D Thongchi, who while serving as EAC (1986-87) in Changlang district, had seized 95-kg hashish sending a wave across the country. Hashish per kg was Rs one lakh in global market then.
“India is youngest nation in the world with highest younger population. But if the younger generations become drug addicted, the nation would be sick. Thus, the NGOs have a vital role to play to protect the society. Once the younger ones become sick, the nation would be sick with a bleak future,” Kumar said to be showered with questions from the trainees.
Responding to question from trainee Prevalency Syiem on how to tackle the menace, Kumar cited the example of nine districts of Arunachal Pradesh where opium is cultivated. However, National Youth Project with president H P Biswas and himself as vice president had convinced 22 opium cultivators of Anjaw district to take up large size cardamom cultivation to earn Rs 1.72 crore from first harvest, while large number of cultivators turned lakpatis in next few years.
The drug users should be given alternative to channelize them from drug abuse; he said when most of the participants agreed that drug abuse is the greatest enemy of younger generations today.
Prevalency’s mother Rikynti Syiem, a known traditional dress maker of Meghalaya, said “by forming an NGO we can overcome the common drug problems faced by the society. We need to work together with commitment along with law enforcing agencies to achieve the goal”.
“Every living being has two mothers- one biological and the other Mother Earth.
Mother Earth has everything to meet the needs of all living being, not the greed; he quoted Mahatma Gandhi as saying. We will face hardly any problem, if all of us take care for our Mother Earth,” he said to the applause of the participants.
Highlighting various legal aspects, Gauahati High Court advocate Abhijeet Bhattachrjee, said that every NGO is expected to be registered under Registration of Society Act, 1986 but even NGO without registration in few states including Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya also function. Any NGO registered with Niti Aayog need not wait for three year gestation period for taking up Govt projects.
He pinpointed the dos’ and dont’s for the NGOs for effective function by taking up various Govt schemers for sustainability. Rikynti was the one to raise question again.
Vishwa Yuvak Kendra (VKV) programme officer Rajeev Nirma exhorted all trainees to become multiply the knowledge they earned to benefit the society. The training is a collaborative effort of VKV and All India Hope Line Charitable Welfare Youth Society.
