Sixty thousand DU students say no to drugs, ragging

New Delhi: Over 60,000 students of Delhi University have pledged against drug abuse and ragging during a two-day-long campaign organised by an NGO in partnership with the Delhi Police.

The Anti Drugs, Anti Ragging Campaign (ADAR) by Leaders For Tomorrow (LFT), an organisation working towards harnessing leadership skills, calls on students to pledge themselves against ragging and drug abuse. During the campaign at DU over eight thousand students have become members of LFT while over four thousand of its volunteers worked across 61 colleges of the university to raise awareness on the issues. "LFT is a youth leadership movement which basically aims at raising awareness among college-goers regarding drug and substance abuse and also against ragging," says LFT South Campus Campaign Head Siddharth Jain. "ADAR campaign basically singles out freshers not only to raise awareness among them on issues of drug abuse and ragging but also involves them in various activities to awaken social consciousness among them," LFT South Campus Campaign Manager Utkarsh Srivastava said. He says over 60,000 students of Delhi University have already pledged against drug abuse and ragging. ADAR campaign will be conducted in three phases to cover 150 colleges across the capital region. While the first phase covers DU, in the next two phases Indraprastha University and Jamia Milia Islamia will be covered. "Most of the students in DU come from outstations and smaller towns. The new-found freedom and peer-pressure often leads them drug abuse. Through our volunteers and supporters we provide informed choice to such students. "The outcome of our efforts till now has been very positive and many students have found platforms to express their problems related to drugs and ragging that have been sorted," says Siddharth, a third year student at Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, who is involved in the campaign. Moreover, in an attempt to expand its outreach LFT has recently launched its mobile app to encourage youngsters who wish to join the group. The app, also called Leaders For Tomorrow, is available for blackberry and android phones for free, an LFT volunteer says.