Making it to the news for right reasons Better Kangleipak campaign
|
Rare it is for Manipur to see students making it to the news for the right reason and it was with a reason why a prominent space was set aside for the news that told the story of how some students had got together under the banner, ‘ For Better Kangleipak’ campaign. Nameless, faceless most of the students are, but this is what makes their campaign all that more beautiful and meaningful. On the other hand, the Manipuri Students’ Federation (MSF) is not a stranger to anyone in Manipur but what makes their latest campaign significant lies in the centre of its drive, drug abuse amongst the young people. The call of the student body to the Board of Secondary Education, (BoSEM) to include a chapter on prevention of drug use could not have at a more opportune moment and is definitely a matter fit enough to be discussed by educationists, the experts dealing with the issue of drug abuse, the policy framers of the land, the heads of all educational institutions. Students in the limelight for the right reason and it is definitely encouraging to see young students, with face masks and hand gloves and picking up the carelessly and thoughtlessly discarded plastic water bottles, wrappers and other wastes. The campaign of the students should also be seen beyond the act of picking up the trash and the carelessly discarded wastes, but should give everyone the opportunity to look back and sincerely think over their conduct in the public sphere. It was not so long back that The Sangai Express had carried a series of news stories on the piling garbage in the commercial centres of Imphal as well as focus on the disgusting habit of some people to dirty the place. And it is this which the young, faceless students have sought to correct under the ‘For Better Kangleipak’ campaign. It is the mentality of the people that needs to change and fast at that. And it is this mentality that will stand in the way of Imphal marching towards the description that fits a Smart City. It is this which needs to be tackled and fast at that. A mentality that comes out in all its ugliness when one sees garbage being dumped from a car in the dead of the night in any public space, the video footages of which had gone viral on more than one occasion earlier. Take the domestic wastes out from one’s kitchen in a gunny bag, carry the wastes in a fancy car, take a ride in the commercial areas of Imphal and furtively throw the garbage bag outside, ‘when no one is looking.’ Or take a health drink or plain water from a bottle while out on a morning walk up Cheiraoching, for one believes in one’s health, but throw the used water bottle by the road side, as if the hills is a family heirloom. The bottle thrown away and the kitchen garbage dumped by the roadside soon becomes a pile of rotting rubbish and soon come to define Imphal, a place which is officially stated to be on its way to being a Smart City ! It is these discarded bottles and the other wastes which have galvanised some young, faceless, anonymous students to join hands and go on a cleaning mission under the banner ‘For Better Kangleipak.’
That a student body like the Manipuri Students’ Federation has deemed it necessary to pile the pressure on the Government to frame a chapter on drug abuse and include it in the syllabus is also a clear reflection of the disturbing reality of the day. The very act of the student body is more than a statement that drugs are taking a heavy toll on the lives of the young students, so much so, that a chapter on drug abuse in the school syllabus is now thought indispensable. Parents, teachers, the Government and the young students should give this a serious thought and while it is MSF which seems to have taken the onus of sounding the necessity of such a chapter, the rest of the society should extend all the possible co-operation to the student body in its endeavour. All students from Class V to Class XII are a curious lot and are at that age when they would be more than ready to try out new things. And it is at this stage that many can start taking the first puff of the cigarette, the first sip of alcohol and even drugs. This is the time at the stage of every growing child (student) where parents, elders of the family and teachers need to consistently monitor the conduct of the young ones and the call of MSF to include a chapter on drug abuse in the school text book needs serious considerations.
That a student body like the Manipuri Students’ Federation has deemed it necessary to pile the pressure on the Government to frame a chapter on drug abuse and include it in the syllabus is also a clear reflection of the disturbing reality of the day. The very act of the student body is more than a statement that drugs are taking a heavy toll on the lives of the young students, so much so, that a chapter on drug abuse in the school syllabus is now thought indispensable. Parents, teachers, the Government and the young students should give this a serious thought and while it is MSF which seems to have taken the onus of sounding the necessity of such a chapter, the rest of the society should extend all the possible co-operation to the student body in its endeavour. All students from Class V to Class XII are a curious lot and are at that age when they would be more than ready to try out new things. And it is at this stage that many can start taking the first puff of the cigarette, the first sip of alcohol and even drugs. This is the time at the stage of every growing child (student) where parents, elders of the family and teachers need to consistently monitor the conduct of the young ones and the call of MSF to include a chapter on drug abuse in the school text book needs serious considerations.