Chandigarh: Information reveals, nearly 1300 persons have been arrested in past three allegedly involved in drug abuse in Haryana, as such state health department has ordered CCTV cameras to be installed in all medical stores to prevent drug abuse in the state, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi said it will be made mandatory to install CCTV cameras in all medical stores, besides drug sellers will have to display their licenses at a place where customers can easily see them. He has directed to inspect all de-addiction centers in the state and submit a report by April 22. The government is strict about drug addiction since most of the centres are violating rules. The Chief Secretary in a state level Narco Coordination Center meeting directed the Deputy Commissioners to inspect the de-addiction centers and submit a detailed compliance report immediately.
The meeting evaluated the efforts being made to tackle fast increasing drug-related crimes as well as an action plan to strengthen anti-drug initiatives in every district across the state. The Chief Secretary also proposed to increase the number of Prahari Clubs, which are designed to create awareness among students and youths about drug abuse. He suggested that along with teachers, parents of youth suffering from drug addiction should also be included in these clubs so that a more positive environment for counselling youths suffering from drug addiction can be established. Haryana Home Secretary Dr. Sumita Mishra said that during the thorough inspection of de-addiction centres, not only deficiencies should be identified but improvements should also be accepted. She said Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has launched ‘Sankalp’ to provide information to control drug abuse and awareness about its ill-effects.
Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary, Services Department, G Anupama said that the department has developed a digital platform in the form of Haryana Drug Abuse Monitoring System to enable end-to-end de-addiction services in licensed centres. The pilot project has been successfully tested in Ambala and Panchkula and now it will be implemented in the entire state. A star rating system has also been started for de-addiction centres. Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrughan Kapoor and Director General of Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau (HSNCB) OP Singh said that a total of 834 FIRs have been registered under the NDPS Act from 1st January to 31st March this year in which 1319 accused were arrested, which included 119 cases were related to commercial quantity of narcotics, while 578 cases were related to intermediate quantity. He said 2515 villages were covered under the ‘Sports for Youth’ initiative, aiming to educate and involve the youth in the fight against drug abuse. Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police, who joined the meeting through video conferencing, have also presented reports from their districts.
