Daltonganj: Students of a govt middle school in Palamu district adopted a unique awareness campaign last week to keep their school premises and its adjoining areas free of tobacco products and drugs.A Class 8 student, Anushka Kumari, turned up on stage dressed as Goddess Durga. Using her trident, she punctured five balloons, symbolising tobacco products such as cannabis, gutka, cigarettes and alcohol. “The performance depicted a battle in which Goddess Durga punctured each balloon which represented an evil,” Parshuram Tiwary, headmaster of Rajyakrit Madhya Vidyalaya Rajwadeeh, said.Out of 130 students enrolled in the school, 116 attended and watched the skit, which was staged on Oct 16, just before the school closed for the Durga Puja holiday. “Our message was straightforward – eliminate tobacco and drug abuse from the school campus and its surroundings,” he said.The play was conceived by Tiwary and was staged with the support of other teachers.Meanwhile, district education officer Sandeep Kumar said the ongoing campaign against the use of tobacco products and drugs has covered 2,903 govt, govt-aided and private schools across the district. In five locations, officers found tobacco products being sold within a 100-metre radius of the school campus.“Nineteen raids were carried out across schools recently and offenders were fined Rs 5,650,” Palamu civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar Sriwastwa said.
