Hyderabad:10-yr-old strives for drug-free society

Hyderabad: A student of Class 4, Taniya Begum, has been raising her voice against drugs even since she was five years old. After looking at various news articles and videos about the adverse effects of drugs, Taniya believes that drug-use is a serious issue and needs to be talked about in public. "Many people, especially the youth, are getting addicted to drugs and are destroying both their health and future," Taniya said, adding that she has decided to raise her voice against drugs by creating awareness among people about their injurious effects.

At a tender age, Taniya developed an interest the this issue and has conducted various campaigns. She said that her desire to fight for the cause was inspired by the father, Shaik Salauddin, who participates in various campaigns to create social awareness. Taniya participates in events and campaigns every Sunday and distributes booklets, which explains the adverse effects of drugs on one's health. She campaigns in various schools and colleges across the city and by now has distributed around 35,000 booklets.

In order to strengthen her zeal to create a drug-free society, Taniya joined 'Drugs Free World, India'. Furthermore, she visits pan shops to campaign against smoking. "Drugs destroy and damage millions of lives every year. I dream about a drug-free environment. My goal is to fight against drugs until I see a drug-free society. I firmly want to bring awareness among people and help our society be free from drugs," she said.

Apart from drugs, she campaigns for water conservation and other environmental issues by taking up challenges like 'Hara hai toh Bhara hai'. To further create awareness about traffic rules and regulations, she initiated a challenge called 'Selfie with helmet, Papa' that takes about helmets and their importance while riding bikes. Her father informed that she even received a letter from President Ram Nath Kovind after she wrote to him about a social cause.

She also received an acknowledgement letter from the office of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. Her works have been appreciated by many leaders of India.