Dimapur: The Nagaland social welfare department launched an online competition on substance abuse prevention.
The online competition will be held under three categories – creative writing, poster and reel making.
Speaking at the launch programme, held at the conference hall of the directorate of social welfare in Kohima, director, social welfare, Tosheli Zhimomi said Nagaland was affected with the menace of substance abuse where hundreds of young people have fallen victims.
She said the Nagaland government has declared war on drugs and that the social welfare department has taken up various programmes as a measure of primary prevention and also reached out to various groups of people with the message of ill effects of substance abuse.
Zhimomi expressed her delight at the launch of the online competitions in commemoration of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking that targets the age group of 13 to 25 years, which is the most susceptible group to the dangers of substance abuse.
She hoped that a large number of young people would register for this competition and that their critical thinking and creative writing would aid in educating the public about the dangers of substance usage.
Briefing the gathering, deputy director, social welfare, Wango Langsym informed that in Nagaland alone, there are more than six lakh substance abusers, of which 37,000 are minors and 17,000 are females.
Miss Northeast 2023 Kenei Ritse, Miss Nagaland 2023 Neiketuno Sech? and Miss Nagaland 2022 Hikali Achumi also attended the launch programme and addressed the gathering.
One may check the official handle of the social welfare department on Instagram @ socialwelfare_ngl8 for more details.