Salt Lake had just woken when more than 400 students from 10 different schools took to the streets on Sunday. The students walked more than 2km to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Organised by the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, the rally was attended by the top brass of the police as well as chess Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua and athlete Sushmita Singha Roy. Carrying colourful placards, the students made it a point that all passersby got the message to stay away from drugs. 

“We have organised this rally to create an awareness about drugs especially among the youngsters. The youth, particularly teenagers, love to experiment with new things and before they even realise they fall into the shady cesspool of drugs. This is why we invited schoolchildren to make them aware that this is one thing that nobody should ever experiment with,” said Jawed Shamim, the commissioner of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate.

Barua, who was pleasantly surprised with the turnout, said not only youngsters but their parents also have to be aware in order to keep their children off it. “Drugs are a growing menace. Young people have to be very careful and ensure that no amount of peer pressure can lure them into experimenting with drugs. Parents need to be supportive and should not always pressure their children to do well in every field,” he said.

The rally was flagged off by Shamim in front of the commissioner office in Salt Lake stadium and the students walked till the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre where they took a U-turn and headed towards the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in LB Block.

The huge rally aroused curiosity among bystanders. “I was surprised to see so many children walking flanked by police escorts. But as they came closer I realised this was no student agitation but an anti-drug awareness rally. It felt very good to see so many kids hitting the streets for such a noble cause,” said Devangshu Bhattacharya, an HB Block resident who was waiting for a bus to go to office.