NSUI kick starts anti-drug campaign in Himachal Pradesh, demands student body poll

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 19 : The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) launched an anti-drug campaign named "Sankalp" from the state capital Shimla on Saturday.
The campaign aims to combat the increasing drug problem among the youth of Himachal Pradesh and create awareness against substance abuse. Simultaneously, the NSUI emphasized the need for the resumption of student union elections in the state.
NSUI national president Varun Chaudhary addressed the media during the launch, highlighting the urgency of the campaign and the rising drug menace in educational institutions.
Chaudhary remarked, "You must have seen that complaints of drugs have reached school and college campuses. We want students to stand in the campaign against drugs. It is our resolution that the youth of the country should stand against drugs. After Punjab, now drugs are increasing in Himachal Pradesh."
" As we know that the youth of Punjab are drowned in drugs. Before this situation comes in Himachal Pradesh, NSUI has decided that our student volunteers will go to all the colleges and schools and whoever will try to save the youth from drugs, who will save the youth. We, the team of Himachal, have started a good campaign. Students will be made to go to schools, colleges, and industries through these companies. I have made this decision today. The way the youth has good energy, we have also written a letter regarding the restoration of student union elections, and until the student union elections are not held, we are repeatedly demanding and fulfilling our guarantee. But the attitude of the central government has not been right towards Himachal Pradesh. The central government has stopped the rights of Himachal Pradesh and somewhere it was stopped so that the government in Himachal Pradesh could not fulfill the guarantee given to it today," said Varun Chaudhary, National President, NSUI.
In parallel to the campaign, the NSUI is calling for the resumption of student union elections, emphasizing that such elections play a vital role in student representation and democracy in educational institutions.
Abhinandan Thakur, the President of the NSUI unit in Himachal Pradesh, echoed Chaudhary's concerns about the rising drug issue. He stressed the importance of raising awareness among young people and providing them with positive direction.
"Through this campaign, the increasing prevalence of drug addiction among the youth in Himachal will be reduced, and through this, the youth will be made aware. When the people of our organization and we visited the campus, we saw that the students are getting involved in drugs, and we felt that to get rid of this, it is necessary to create awareness, and the youth should be made aware against drugs with positive thinking. We have started this campaign named Sankalp Lakh. The youth has become so empty, unemployment is also one of its problems. We are trying to give a good message by connecting the youth. We ourselves have come out of our homes," he said.
Thakur also called for student union elections, highlighting that many prominent leaders, including the state's Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, have roots in student politics.
"We want student union elections as well. By the way, nepotism will continue in negative exams. The Chief Minister has come out of student politics. We, Thakur Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, will talk to me, and he will also talk about student union elections. We will immediately discuss that the pain of unemployment is increasing rapidly. We will have to focus on development. We will have to draw the attention of the youth towards traditional methods. We will have to create employment opportunities using the resources that we have so that the youth can get employment and stay away from addiction," added Thakur.
The campaign "Sankalp" is being seen as an attempt by NSUI to address the dual challenges of drug abuse and unemployment among the youth in Himachal Pradesh. With their student volunteers, they hope to curb the rising menace of drugs while pushing for the re-establishment of student union elections to ensure greater student involvement and representation.