Mangaluru: Ramanji, a 30-year-old social worker, will don on the “vesha” or costume of a “Drugs Karkotaka” to create awareness about the ill-effects of consumption of drugs among the youth during the Sri Krishna Janmashtami and Vittal Pindi festival here on September 2 and 3.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Ramanji, who has been donning different types of costumes to give out social messages during the Sri Krishna Janmashtami for the last six years, said that the youth were nowadays getting attracted to drugs knowingly or unknowingly. The only solution to this problem was creating awareness about its ill-effects.

Besides creating awareness on drug abuse, he would be raising funds for Vidyavardhaka Sangha Kannada Medium School in Shirva, which is running only with the help of honorary teachers so as to meet a part of the expenses being given as honorarium to them. As many as 30 students are studying in that school, he said.

A portion of the funds raised by him will go towards meeting the medical expenses of Saundarya, a Class 8 student of the Government Girls High School in Udupi. The special costume, “Drugs Karkotaka”, would be designed by Prashanth Udyavar, Mr. Ramanji said.

Nityananda Volakadu and Avinash Kamath, social workers, were present.