Students of ABM College in Golmuri have gone beyond academics to curb incidents of dengue in their adopted villages.
About 80 students of National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of ABM College on Sunday walked for three hours in the four Ghaghidih panchayats on the outskirts of Jamshedpur to make people aware of dengue that will result in lesser incidents of the disease in the future.
As part of their drive titled Operation Clean, dengue has been the group’s emphasis, especially in rural areas.
The NSS unit’s first-day drive was supported by East Singhbhum civil surgeon Maheshwari Prasad, along with mukhiyas of Ghaghidih madhya, east, south and north gram panchayats.
“Diseases such as dengue can only be curbed with community participation. The students have put in a lot of effort and people will have to listen to them. It is a positive sign that students are getting involved for the good of society,” said Prasad.
Students, who visited the four panchayats, distributed 1,000 pamphlets in almost all households in the villages. As the first day of the drive, the students spoke on how to maintain cleanliness and understand dengue symptoms.
“We have taken up the campaign in rural areas because most of the people count on superstitious practices in case of fever rather than visiting a doctor. So, they need to understand that they should visit a doctor first. Most people die because they avoid going to hospitals for treatment,” said Nainsee Kumari, one of the NSS members of ABM College.
Students said their campaign would not end in a day but they would visit the villages for regular follow-ups so that villagers can adopt cleanliness as their daily practice.
The students will adopt Hurlung in Telco next. The NSS unit will adopt five villages and will work for a considerable period.
“We have decided to engage students in social work so that they can help contribute in curbing social problem. This is holistic education and will help in their character building,” said R.K. Choudhary, the NSS co-ordinator of ABM College.
