Mir Imran , Madaripur 

Putting an end to long-standing local conflicts, over a hundred people from three villages in Madaripur have come together to organize a Fruit Festival aimed at promoting a drug-free environment and preventing eve-teasing. People of all ages—from teenagers to the elderly—joined forces in this initiative to protect their villages from immoral activities and to engage in positive social actions.

 This collective move toward a drug-free Bangladesh has been widely appreciated by the administration and people from all walks of life.

The Fruit Festival was held Thursday afternoon at the playground of Char Kalikapur Matubbar Kandi Madrasa in Panchkhola Union of Sadar Upazila.

According to the organizers and locals, “For many years, there had been clashes over dominance among the people of our three villages. Taking advantage of the situation, outsiders would infiltrate and engage in drug-related activities, harass women, and carry out various immoral acts. Some people from within the villages also fueled these conflicts.”

“Now, we have realized our past mistakes and united across the three villages. From now on, we will not allow the consumption or sale of drugs in our area. Together, we will resist it and strive to work for the socio-economic development of our community. We will support underprivileged children and help the poor. As long as Allah keeps us alive, we will serve the neglected and continue doing good work in society.”

Local residents including Kuddus Khan, Sajal Khan, Russel Madbor, and Motaleb Madbor said, “The main reason for our unity is to bring about social and economic development and to rid the area of drugs. Drugs are leading our youth to ruin. Because of drugs, crimes such as murder, robbery, mugging, and eve-teasing have increased. That’s why we, the locals, will speak out and take action to stop these.”

Swapan Ahmed said, “For whatever reason, we are very happy to finally unite after so many years and organize this fruit festival together. Drugs have had a devastating impact on our society, and there is ample proof of that. Across the country, families and communities suffer daily due to drug abuse. There have been countless instances of drug addicts murdering their own parents, spouses, children, and relatives. Many families have been destroyed due to drugs. If we all stay united, InshaAllah, we will be able to build a drug-free community.”

The upazila administration has also praised and endorsed this initiative.