IRS officer gets Guinness panel certificate for largest drugs awareness session

Addressing reporters on Tuesday, A Venkatesh Babu, Assistant Commissioner, Air Intelligence Unit, said that as part of ‘Drug Demand Reduction Strategy’ of the central government, he started addressing school and college students about the ill effects of drugs in 2011. 

Babu, after an extensive study of drug abuse and the associated dangers, said he decided to set a Guinness record and organised a mass awareness session in Jeppiaar Engineering College on February 2. He also obtained the approval of the Guinness management team for the attempt. He addressed a gathering of 2,009 students for 98 minutes and 13 seconds. All the students were present till the completion of the event and the video was submitted to the Guinness records committee. 

The panel analysed the footage and handed over the certificate to him on May 12. The previous Guinness record was set with 650 students. So far, the officer has delivered speeches at 127 institutions across the country and has also addressed cadets in Tamil Nadu Police Training Academy, Police Training College in Puducherry and Coast Guard Eastern Command.