Women empowerment is vital to check the rising substance abuse among children. Only healthy and empowered mothers can make a child stronger and give them the right directions to tackle issues that push children towards drug addiction. Former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said this while addressing the gathering on the concluding day of the national level seminar of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) on the issue of increasing substance abuse among children. He asserted that people talk about banning alcohol to restrict its consumption but despite that, alcoholism still prevails in states like Gujarat and Bihar where it is prohibited. Instilling values in children to avoid the temptation to indulge in substance abuse is the most effective way to handle it, opined Rawat. MLA Vinod Chamoli said that the government can work against the external factors that facilitate substance abuse but only parents can infuse values into children that would prevent them from falling into this trap.
A total of 13 state commissions for protection of child rights participated in this national seminar including the ones from Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tripura along with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). According to the Uttarakhand SCPCR chief Usha Negi, many important recommendations were made by the participating members in this seminar which would be sent as a joint proposal to the Central Government and to the respective state governments. “We would suggest issuing a unique identification number on the birth of every child in order to monitor them till they turn 18 years old. The commissions also suggested a weekly counselling session for students to reduce their stress level. Using Anganwadi centres for easy rehabilitation of children indulging in substance abuse and establishing special juvenile homes are among the points which we would include in our proposal to the government,” informed Negi. She stated that she has been inspired by the initiatives taken by the commissions of other states in restricting substance abuse among children and she would include them too in her proposal letter to the chief minister.
Thursday, 18 March 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
