CM: COORDINATED EFFORTS NEEDED TO END DRUG USE
DHARAMSHALA: Calling the drug menace a global problem, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said that concerted efforts were required to eradicate the vice.
He was responding to a motion jointly moved by legislators Rakesh Pathania, Balbir Singh, Bikram Singh Jaryal and Paramjeet Singh Pammi seeking to discuss drug abuse among the youth of Himachal Pradesh.
Asserting that drugs enter Himachal Pradesh from the neighbouring state of Punjab, Thakur said the government is strictly implementing provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. He revealed that a meeting of chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh was convened at Panchkula and a decision was taken to make coordinated efforts to eradicate the drug menace.
Till November 30, 1,233 cases under the NDPS Act have been registered against drug peddlers which is 286 more than the previous year.
The chief minister said that government also conducts regular drives to destroy cannabis and opium crops. He said a special task force led by deputy superintendent of police was constituted at the district level for this purpose. He said the drug inspectors in the health department carry out inspections near schools and colleges to prevent drug sale and that the state narcotics crime control ranges created at Kullu, Kangra and Shimla were also functioning effectively.
Financial investigations are also being conducted into the properties amassed by the drug peddlers and these properties are being seized, he said. He said awareness campaigns were being conducted in the villages, schools, colleges and setting up of de-addiction centres and rehabilitation centres is also under consideration. Theog legislator Rakesh Singha said that the situation has emerged due to sense of alienation among youth due to unemployment and change in the economy, society and culture. He suggested two pronged strategy, involving a social movement, including women and bringing a sweeping changes in law.