Panaji, June 22: With the number of rising cases of substance abuse among the locals in Goa, state police have launched an awareness initiative on Saturday. In the new move, the police would reach out to children across schools in Goa.

Stating more about the new initiative, Goa Police said that they were bound to take up the plan after they saw increasing numbers of alcohol-related accidents and cases of drug abuse among youth in the state, reports Indian Express. Bengaluru: Woman Tries to Smuggle Drugs Concealed in Sanitary Pads to Qatar, Arrested

In order to make the initiative successful, the police roped in medical experts from Goa Medical College and visited a school in north Goa to give the maiden lecture on Saturday. A senior police officer said that Our Lady of Merces school was chosen after a number of offenders were reported from this place.

North Goa Superintendent of Police, Chandan Choudhary, said, as the daily quotes, "In our records, we have a lot of offenders coming from areas around Merces. These are youths who have fallen to bad times. We are hoping to start again by reaching out to the children in this area and ensure they do not get influenced to substance abuse." Adding more, he said, "These are impressionable minds and we need to ensure we reach out to them before they take to anything wrong."

The senior police officer opines that the awareness campaign will now spread systematically. Also, the administration has planned to strategically implement the scheme through case studies and presentations.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 22, 2019 09:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).