By Fr. Felix Anthony –
Miao: An inter-village Sports Meet was ogranised by the Neotan Youth Association from 24 – 27 May at Neotan village to counter the drug menace in Miao Sub-division of Changlang District, Arunachal Pradesh.
Responding to the growing number of drug addicts in Changlang District, the newly formed Neotan Youth Association from Namphai Circle brought together around 300 youth from eight villages of the Circle for a four-day multi sports event with the theme “Yes to sports, No to drugs”.
Inaugurating the event, Circle Officer Namrata Bhat appreciated the youth for their sports initiative to counter the drug menace in the district. “What you are doing today serves two purposes. Besides countering the drug menace, you are also getting the youth engaged in outdoor games and sports, a rare sight to see among the youth of these days”, she said, adding that such examples could be followed by all the districts to make Arunachal a drug addiction free State.
There was a total of 14 group and individual sports competitions, including a traditional dance competition on the concluding day.
James Mossang, the President of the Youth Association said the months of April and May are holiday months, a time most of the youth in the villages take to bad habits such as drugs. “Our aim is to keep the youth engaged in healthy habits to build up a healthy tomorrow”, said the President.
All the winners were given certificates of merits signed by the Circle Officer at the concluding ceremony.
Fr. Felix Anthony, the Director of Youth, East Arunachal Pradesh appreciated the youth for their initiative to counter the growing number of drug menace in the district and requested the youth representative of the eight villages to organize similar events in their respective villages.
Speaking at the Concluding ceremony, Fr. Felix said, “An empty mind is devil’s workshop. The best way to a better tomorrow is to keep the young minds engaged in healthy habits like sports and games.”
The youth from Kaikepothar Village emerged Champion of the first ever sports meet of Miao subdivision.
The four-day sports event, that was sponsored by Hal Mart, Miao and Namdapha Degree Collge, Miao, came to conclude with a colourful mega dance by all the participants.
In the midst of the growing number of drug abuse cases, the Neotan Youth Association brings in a positive hope to the district that ranks of among the five worst drug affected districts of Arunachal Pradesh.