India News | Departments' Coordination Needed to Eradicate Drug Menace: Khattar

Chandigarh, Nov 18 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Friday that all the departments would have to work together to eradicate the menace of drugs.

The drugs have not only become an interstate menace, but also an international problem, Khattar said at the third meeting of the State Level Committee of Narco Coordination Centre in Chandigarh.

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He said not only the police, but all the other departments concerned would have to work together to eradicate the menace.

The CM said drug smuggling posed a threat to national security, adding that the departments would have to coordinate and run awareness campaigns, according to an official statement.

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Strict actions have to be taken against the culprits by putting them behind the bars and seizing their properties. The smugglers' properties have been demolished at many places in the state recently, he added.

Khattar also highlighted the inputs about intoxicants being made available at the de-addiction centres.

All such centres should be mapped and the data of the patients who came for treatment analysed by conducting a survey by December 31, he said.

Stressing on the need to break the chain of demand and supply, he appealed to the citizens to immediately share any information with police or on the anti-drug helpline about smuggling or use of narcotics.

The CM directed officials to conduct a special awareness campaign on the drugs menace, diseases caused by it and its adverse effects in the society.

Students in schools, colleges and universities should be administered an e-pledge against the drugs, he said.

State Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) additional director general of police Shrikant Jadhav said mission teams were being prepared for village, ward and the state level for drug prevention.

The main objective of these teams is to trace drug addicts, enter their data in the mobile application, counsel such people, making various efforts for their rehabilitation and spreading awareness, Jadhav said.

He added that 84 deaths were registered last year due to overdose of drugs, out of which most of the deaths were in the age group of 18-35.

NCB deputy director general Gyaneshwar Singh said Haryana ensured better implementation of schemes at the grassroots level by including most of the parameters in its action plan.

Singh recommended the Home Department to submit an action plan soon to enhance the forensic capacity of the state. PTI

(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)