Thiruananthpuram: Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has agreed to a request of CPI-M LDF government in Kerala to use his name in a campaign against drug and liquor abuse in the state.
Kerala, which witnessed a sudden spike in cases of drug abuse last year following a partial ban on liquor stores, has roped in legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador of an anti-drug campaign.
This was stated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after Tendulkar along with three other co-owners of the Kerala Blasters Football Club (KBFC) met him at the state secretariat here today.
“Tendulkar has given consent to use his name to strengthen the campaign against liquor and drug abuse in the state. He has agreed to cooperate in the campaign,” he told reporters.
Asked whether Tendulkar would be the state’s ‘ambassador’ for the campaign, Vijayan said all those things would be discussed later.
In 2008, Kerala police registered 508 drug cases. The number remained below 1,000 for the next five years with 974 cases being reported in 2013. However, the scenario changed suddenly in 2014 when 418 bars in lower grades were closed. That year, 2,233 cases were registered under the NDPS Act whereas the number of cases has reached 985 in the first three months of 2015.
After 712 bars in Kerala were closed from April last year as part of the UDF's government’s new liquor policy, use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances further went up in the state.
Vijayan also said the KBFC has agreed to set up a residential Football Academy to train young talents in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Tendulkar said the main mission of the academy was to produce international level players from the soccer-crazy state in the next five years.
