Get us treated: 16 Tarn Taran addicts to admn

TARN TARAN: Two days after the residents of Dhunda village in Tarn Taran caught two peddlers with drugs and handed them over to the police, 16 drug addicts of the village urged the district administration to get them treated at de-addiction centres.

Deputy commissioner (DC) Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal, along with a team of officials, on Tuesday paid a visit to the village to appreciate the villagers’ act of catching two drug pedllers. When the DC was addressing a gathering in the village, 16 men of the village stood up and requested him to enrol them at drug de-addiction centres.

Immediately, the DC ordered his officers to enrol the drug addicts at Tarn Taran’s out-patient opioid assisted treatment (OOAT) centre.

Talking to HT, the DC said, “As Dhunda was considered the worst-affected village by drugs in Khadoor Sahib constituency, I visited the village a few days ago and encouraged the villagers to take a stand against drug smugglers of their area to save the youth. I also made a committee of the villagers to act against smugglers. When I came to know that the village had caught two peddlers with drugs, I came here again them to appreciate their work.”

He said the 16 men drug addicts, who showed their interest to abstain from drugs, have been enrolled in OOAT centre for their treatment.