Agartala, Jan 11, 2025, TRIPURATIMES Desk

Agartala, Jan 11: The first edition of Jagriti 2025, an inter-college Quiz Competition, jointly organized by the Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs and Transport Departments, saw a good response from the students at Udaipur on Saturday.
Minister for Food and Transport Sushanta Chowdhury said that college students have to shoulder the responsibility to keep the society free of vices like drug de-addiction and lack of awareness on issues like traffic laws and consumer rights.
He said, “The college students are the citizens of tomorrow. They are the ones who will shape the future and hence they need to take responsibility for society as well. It is their responsibility to keep the society clean and free of any malice. Drug addiction is a real threat to our society which should be addressed in a very calculative manner.” 
Citing some of the common resistant factors, Chowdhury said, “People may resist you initially stating that privacy of an individual shouldn’t be breached when you raise objections against their behavior and drug addiction. But, these resistances should be handled with care. You have to tell them that your parents, the society and this country also deserves your contribution for a better tomorrow which the path chosen by the individual could never deliver.”
Laying emphasis on human resources, he said, “Always remember, if the human resource of a race could be destroyed, it can never revive. The fight against drugs is the battle to protect our human resource.”
According to Chowdhury, the food and transport department in the next phase of awareness campaigns will organize rallies in all colleges for involvement of students in the social cause. 
Speaking about the road traffic incidents, the Minister said, “We have come across a lot of incidents where one simple mistake of not wearing a helmet turned costly. A simple act of losing balance while riding a two-wheeler can lead to fatal consequences. A young man can lose his life and I have seen families doing everything to save the life of the young member but nothing actually pays off. But, one simple habit of wearing helmets could have different consequences.”
The Minister also spoke about consumer protection law and urged the students to be aware and make others aware. “If we become aware of these three topics and make others aware with dedication, we shall be able to create an informed citizenry,” he pointed out.     
Transport Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, who was also present at the event, also expressed his concern over the drug addiction and urged the society to wage a battle against it.
“I have also come across many cases related to drug addiction. The police and other law enforcement agencies are doing their jobs but I genuinely feel, we all have to be more cautious when it comes to these issues,” the Minister added.
Justice Arimdam Lodh of the High Court of Tripura and Corporation Minister Shukla Charan Noatia also spoke on the occasion among others.
The Transport and Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Departments with the help of Higher Education Department launched the “Jagriti Drive” that seeks to spread awareness among students about drug addiction, road traffic accidents and consumer rights.
The first inter-college quiz competition was held at Udaipur under where more than one thousand students from South Tripura, Sepahijala and Gomati Districts participated.
The second event will be held on January 17 at Kumarghat where students from Unakoti District, North Tripura District and Dhalai District will participate.
On January 27, Colleges from Khowai and West Tripura will participate at Agartala event and the finale will be organized on February 7 where all the district level winners will compete with each other.
Attractive prizes like Smart TVs, Smart Phones and Smart Watches have been kept for the district level winners while the state level winners will have a chance to win prizes like laptops, tabs etc.
Tripurainfo.com and School of Science are also associated with the quiz competition.