THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reaching a staggering figure of over 11,700 arrests and 9,000 cases registered, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said that the state government’s Operation Toofan is proceeding in a highly successful manner on its hundredth day.
“Wednesday marks the 100th day since we started Operation Toofan. When we began the move on June 2 this year, I never thought that narcotics were a deep-rooted ‘disease’ in our state. But we undertook various public activities as part of Toofan, which made big changes,” he said while inaugurating the 9th edition of the VENDA Cup 2026- Game for Substance Abuse-Free Environment (SAFE) at the Jimmy George Sports Hub here on Tuesday.
Appreciating the organisers for teaming up with Toofan, Chennithala also added that united efforts should be made to build Kerala as a drug-free state. Touted to be the state’s largest Inter-School Football Tournament against drug abuse by promoting sports as an alternative, the event is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by Allianz Services India in partnership with Fourth Wave Foundation.
With 1,600 players-800 boys and 800 girls, the VENDA Cup 2026 will be organised in four zones: Kannur, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam. The zonal qualifiers will be held from September, and the state championships on October 23-24 in Ernakulam.
Presiding over the event, Sports Minister O J Janeesh said that Kerala should be the frontrunner in the medal hunt for the 2036 Olympics, the spirit for which could be boosted through initiatives like the VENDA Cup.
“Along with saying ‘No’ to drugs, opportunities must be created to encourage them to say ‘Yes’ to sports. For this, they must be engaged in tournaments like the ‘VENDA Cup’, recognise their talents, and provide them with the necessary encouragement so that they can emerge as great sports personalities in the future,” he said.