Agartala, Apr 5 (PTI) Taking inspiration from Punjab's initiative to rehabilitate people who have fallen prey to substance abuse, the Tripura government on Saturday opened 18 opioid substitution therapy (OST) centres in various primary health centres in West Tripura district.

The programme, inspired by Punjab's successful OAAT (outpatient opioid assisted treatment) model, focuses on providing counselling and medical treatment to people who had fallen victim to drug abuse, an official statement said.

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The initiative will be jointly implemented by the West Tripura district administration and the Tripura State Aids Control Society (TSACS).

Training of medical personnel has already been completed and service delivery has begun.

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The centres were formally inaugurated in a simple function at Nandan Nagar Urban Primary Health Centre (PHC) in West Tripura district.

Speaking on the occasion, Acting Zilla Sabhadhipati of West Tripura Zilla Parishad, Biswajit Shil, said, "The government's goal is to rehabilitate those who are suffering due to the growing problem of drug abuse. Multi-pronged efforts are underway to curb the drug menace."

The statement said, "Unlike other such facilities, these OST centres are fully funded by the state government. The other OST centres are essentially being run by NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation) and TSACS."

Tripura has been actively working to address HIV/AIDS since the late 1990s, and healthcare services to injecting drug users (IDUs) have been in place since 2011, the statement said, adding the northeastern state has around 10,500 IDUs at present.

As of January 2025, a total of 5,520 people have availed services under the OST programme, and 612 of them have successfully completed treatment and returned to their normal lives, it said.

The state has also emphasised awareness-building. Around 15.56 lakh people have been reached through HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns conducted in 220 schools and through various IEC (information, education, and communication) activities, the statement added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)