A CORRESPONDENT
DIBRUGARH: To commemorate the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse on June 26, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Assam organized a Varta at DRDA Hall, Dibrugarh on Thursday. Mediapersons from Dibrugarh were invited to the programme. The Varta aimed to reach deeper into communities through a more inclusive and impactful approach.
Drug-addiction has devastating impacts on individuals and society. The day reaffirms our commitment to a drug-free India and raises awareness about the devastating impacts of drug abuse.
The programme started with a lecture and audio-visual presentation by Dr Pinky Poddar, Consultant Psychiatrist, Apeksha Hospital. She detailed issues of drug abuse, types of drugs, impacts on individuals and society, and the way forward. Speaking at the programme Dr Poddar said that the roles of communities, health professionals, media, and government agencies were very important in creating awareness about this issue.
Replying to a query on the increasing number of drug addicts in the country, Dr Poddar said that the government agencies were working relentlessly to tackle this issue. Collaborative efforts of different agencies, groups and individuals would definitely bring this number down, she said.
Mridu Borah, Project Coordinator-cum-Vocational Councillor, State Anti Drug and Prohibition Council, stressed upon the role of parents as the key partners in tackling this issue. She spoke on rehabilitation of drug addicts and the challenges. She said that many of the drug addicts are HIV positive, which further makes the problem complex and grave.
Further, a lecture on ocular trauma was also organized at the programme. Eye injury or ocular trauma constituted 7% of all bodily injuries and 10-15% of all eye disease.
Speaking at the programme, Dr Shilpa Ghosh, Ophthalmologist, Drishti Netralaya, Dibrugarh, spoke on the causes, impact, prevention, minimization, and mitigation of eye injury/eye trauma. She emphasized early detection and treatment to prevent irreversible and permanent damage to sight. “Most of the people do not know the harmful impacts of common injuries to eyes and people take medication without consulting a specialist. In some cases, this further worsens the problem and sometimes delays recovery,” added Dr Ghosh.
She said that for any type of eye injury, the first 24 hours were very crucial and people should not take this lightly. Dr Ghosh said that if the right treatment and diagnosis were made, many of the eye diseases could be prevented. She said that mediapersons can play a major role in giving maximum publicity to create awareness at the community level.
Field Publicity Officer Nawal Kishor Prasad was also present at the occasion. The Varta saw a gathering of journalists from both print and electronic media.
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