The project was officially launched by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Sri Sri Ravishankar, Founder, Art of Living Foundation here in the presence of religious leaders, representatives of various student organisations and NGOs working against drug abuse.
"The state government aims to wipe out the menace of substance addiction from our society through Subodham," Chandy said.
"If total alcohol prohibition could save the society, the state government is ready to forego the revenue from the sale of liquor that is around Rs 7000 crore per annum," he said, adding, the new initiative would be successful only if all the stakeholders of the society become part of it.
"Kerala can become a model-state in anti-alcohol and drug awareness as well as rehabilitation initiatives. This initiative is very much a need of the hour. It will be a great achievement if we can implement the project successfully," said Sri Sri Ravishankar.
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Excise Minister K Babu said "the State Education Department has agreed to include anti-drug and alcohol awareness content in the state curriculum from the next academic year."
"The Subodham campaign aims to free one lakh people from drug and alcohol addiction each year. Subodham heralds the first step towards Punarjani 2030 Project, a state government initiative to completely eradicate the menace of substance abuse in Kerala," said Babu who is also the Chairman of Subodham.
The Subodham project, envisaged by the Excise Department, will be implemented by a high-level committee comprising of experts from various fields.
On the occasion, Sri Sri Ravishankar read out the 'Faith in Action' declaration.