Students held anti-smoking awareness rally, pledge ceremony

SRINAGAR: The NSS unit of National Institute of Technology (NIT) on Thursday organised a mega awareness program on Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan in which students, faculty and other staff members participated.
The “Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan” is an initiative of Government of India which reiterates India’s fight against the menace of drugs. The event was organized under the close supervision of Registrar NIT Srinagar, Prof Atikur Rahman.
The anti-smoking pledge ceremony was conducted near the fountain park and was administered in both Hindi and English by student coordinators. Among the attendees were Dr Abdullah Ahmad, Dr Jitendra Gurjar, who served as coordinators for the program. Dr Mohd Zubair Ansari and Dr Sabzar Ahmad Battoo (Rajbhasha Cell) were present on the occasion.
Following the pledge ceremony, students embarked on a large rally around the campus, culminating in an awareness rally at Hi-tech 5.
The second session was presided over by Registrar NIT Srinagar, Prof Atikur Rahman and Dr Rabia Naseem Mughal, (Lecturer Higher Education Department Kashmir) was the Guest of honor on the occasion.
She said that tobacco smoking is one of the world’s largest health problems. Millions of people live in poor health because of it. Researchers estimate that every year around 8 million people die an early death due to smoking.
Dr Rabia said that it has been a major health problem for many decades. For the entire 20th century, it is estimated that around 100 million people died prematurely because of smoking, most of them in rich countries.
“The share of smokers among the world population is falling, and because smoking is such a large health problem today, this is one of the most positive developments in global health. It makes it possible for millions of people to live a longer and healthier life,” she added.
Dr Rabia said that each year, 8 million new people are added to this lot and most of them are the youngsters who fall into this trap.
On the occasion, Institute’s Registrar, Prof Atikur Rahman said drug addiction is emerging to be a serious concern in the country, especially in the younger generation leading to dangerous consequences not just for the person using drugs, but on the family and society at large.
“Drug abuse has resulted in an increase in crime rate and had an overall detrimental impact on society. Prevention has proven to be the most effective strategy to counter this problem,” he said.
Prof Rahman also explained that smoking doesn’t just harm health, but it can also affect how well students do in their studies. NIT Srinagar is committed to keeping its campus smoke-free, he added.
Dr Jitendra Gurjar, Coordinator of NSS NIT Srinagar, delivered a formal vote of thanks. He expressed appreciation to Dr Rabia Naseem Mughal and the administration of NIT Srinagar for their steadfast support in organizing such impactful events on campus.
He also emphasized NSS’s commitment to organizing future awareness campaigns, ensuring that students remain informed about the dangers of drug abuse and smoking.
Dr Gurjar said that in future, NSS will continue to host similar awareness initiatives on campus.

KR Desk