Cluster University of Srinagar (CUS) organised a Debate Competition at its Gogji Bagh campus on April 25, 2026, as part of its institutional participation in the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan — a national initiative aimed at building awareness and collective resolve against substance abuse. The competition brought together undergraduate students from across the university’s constituent colleges for structured, rigorous discourse on the social, ethical, and psychological dimensions of drug abuse in contemporary society.
The Honourable Vice Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Mohammad Mobin, presided over the event. In his address, he commended the intellectual rigour and argumentative depth demonstrated by the participating students, observing that debate forums of this nature enable young scholars to encounter diverse perspectives and develop a more informed and empathetic understanding of critical social challenges.
Prof. Mobin emphasised that the scourge of drug abuse demands not merely rhetorical acknowledgement but active, responsible engagement at both the individual and community level, with empathy and personal accountability forming the bedrock of any effective institutional response.
The event was attended by senior university functionaries, including Registrar Prof. (Dr.) Syed Wilayat Hussain Rizvi; Controller of Examinations Prof. (Dr.) Khurshid Ahmad Mir; Dean, Faculty of Sciences, Prof. (Dr.) Nighat Nasreen; Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. (Dr.) Javaid Ahmad Bhat; and Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Liberal Arts, Prof. Tahira Syed, alongside members of the teaching faculty, administrative officers, and student participants.
The student speakers presented well-researched and compelling arguments across a wide-ranging examination of the causes, consequences, and remedies of substance abuse, collectively reinforcing the imperative of sustained public awareness, institutional vigilance, and shared social responsibility.
First Position was bagged by Akifa Athar, UG 3rd Semester, SP College; Second Position by Ammarah Zahoor, UG 2nd Semester, Abdul Ahad Azad Memorial Degree College, Bemina; and Third Position by Ahtisham Zahoor, UG 6th Semester, Amar Singh College.
The programme was anchored and conducted by Dr. Uzma Shafi, Assistant Professor of English and Coordinator, Cultural Wing, Cluster University of Srinagar, who also delivered the formal Vote of Thanks. She expressed gratitude to the Vice Chancellor for his enlightening presence, acknowledged the distinguished dignitaries in attendance, and commended the students for the intellectual seriousness and civic consciousness with which they approached the subject. She concluded by reaffirming the university’s commitment to nurturing a socially conscious and academically vibrant campus culture.
