Morung Express News
Kohima | May 10
The Noklak District Police, Nagaland under the leadership of its former SP Dr Pritpal Kaur, has been awarded the SKOCH Gold Award for their contribution towards fighting drugs and insurgency through livelihood skills and education in the frontier district.
The recognition was announced by the SKOCH group, India’s leading think tank dealing with socio-economic issues with a focus on inclusive growth since 1997.
Instituted in 2003, SKOCH Award recognizes “people, projects and institutions that go the extra mile to make India a better nation.”
According to Dr Pritpal Kaur, 480 drugs dependents have been taught livelihood skills so far in collaboration with Noklak ITEC and Noklak Police Church. The recognition also includes the Noklak Police's initiatives in providing coaching classes for UPSC/NPSC aspirants, establishment of Science museum, Library, education world, computer labs in Noklak, launching of Food processing unit, Taste of Noklak society (TONS) and its products, Noklak masterpieces handicraft products launch, drug dependents and their rehabilitation along with livelihood training.
Other contributions include “Not guns but machines e-bike, dryer, oile expeller etc initiatives, farmers trainings, Weaver's expo, Covid-19 and Noklak police help, Anti-drugs squad and drugs raids and all other works done for betterment of Noklak and its people at Border area,” mentions Dr Kaur.
An important initiative of the Noklak Police has been the aim to combat drug use by rehabilitating drug users with vocational and livelihood skills such as handicrafts.
A Computer Lab was also inaugurated in June, 2022 where ten computers were provided to GHSS, Noklak. This was initiated by the Noklak Police in collaboration with Karnataka's MindTree Foundation. Telescopes and microscope were also provided for the Science museum department of the school.
In September 2022, the Noklak SP office also launched products of the Khiamniungan Women Weaving Cooperative Society Noklak titled "Noklak Mother's Love" Products which includes traditional clothes, jewellery, gears and sanitary pads from Sanitary pads making unit. The Sanitary pad making unit was established in 2021 by the SP Office Noklak and National Innovation foundation.
Another ingenious initiative of the Noklak Police has been the launching of Noklak Masterpieces (NM) products of the Noklak District Handloom and Handicraft council (NDHHC).
These initiatives according to Dr Pritpal Kaur, has been introduced to provide entrepreneurship to the Noklak youth in search of employment and livelihood, the primary aim being the fight against of substance abuse in the community.
NM products include kitchen craft dishes, traditional clothes, headgears, machete, traditional bamboo crafts, jewellery, elloi niu (stinging nettle) products, earthenware, pottery, cane works, wild rhea bags, handmade cotton products, wooden straws, traditional iron tools etc.
