IEP CHANDIGARH
In the regional conference on drug trafficking, national security organized under the Chairmanship of Union Home Minister, Sh. Amit Shah to root out the drug abuse menace from the northern states and formulating proactive strategies here today, Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that drug addiction and drug trafficking are a matter of concern for the entire world. This problem is not limited to any one country rather the entire world is fighting against this societal evil, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that due to various reasons not only our youth, but children are also falling prey to substance abuse. To tackle this social issue, we need to put up a joint fight to break this network, said Manohar Lal.
He said that if the one state police take strict action against drug peddlers and those involved in illegal drug trafficking, then these drug dealers and peddlers shift to neighbouring states.
“The network of drug dealers is spread all over the country. Law enforcement agencies of various states are putting up a tough fight to break this network. However this problem can be curbed if the law enforcement agencies of different states work untidily with mutual coordination,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Haryana Police succeeded in catching drug smugglers
The Chief Minister said that according to the decisions taken in the earlier conferences on the issue of drug smuggling and national security, Haryana has not only taken effective steps, but their results are also coming. More than 200 NDPS Act cases are registered in Haryana every month. Till June 30, 1913 cases were registered in the state in which 2661 accused were arrested. Also, till June 2022, around Rs 32 crore recovered from 253 drug smugglers has been seized and the process of confiscation of property worth Rs 13 crore is going on, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that the State Police has been directed to thoroughly investigate every case and tighten the noose of those involved in this illicit trade. As a result of this, Haryana Police has succeeded in nabbing drug smugglers even from the inaccessible areas of remote states like Telangana, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.
142 drug de-addiction centres operational in the state
The Chief Minister said that under the NDPS Act, 142 drug de-addiction centres have been opened in the state. Apart from these, mental health and drug de-addiction wards have been opened in all government medical colleges. De-addiction centres are also being opened in civil hospitals in every district of the state. So far these centres have been opened in 13 districts.
Psychiatrists are providing de-addiction services in civil hospitals in all the districts where de-addiction centre are yet to be established. So far these centres have been opened in Hisar and Rohtak jails, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that the State Government has constituted Haryana State Drug Prevention Committee to identify, treat and financially rehabilitate drug addicts and bring them back into the mainstream of society. This Committee will also work to make people aware by doing research about the social, economic, health and other harms caused by drugs, he added.
Drug smugglers caught in a systematic manner by identifying the drugs hotspots
The Chief Minister said that Haryana Police is maintaining effective coordination with the Narcotic Control Bureau to deal with the inter-state smuggling gangs.
We have also assigned some cases to NCB for research purposes. Hence while working amicably, a massive crackdown against drug abuse and smugglers have been launched. For cooperation at all levels with neighbouring states, we have established a centralised secretariat at Panchkula in Haryana. In this secretariat eight states of northern India collect and share information about drug trafficking. Through this centralized system, hundreds of drug traffickers have been arrested and our struggle against drugs has been strengthened,” said Sh. Manohar Lal.
The State Government has established the Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau. Furthermore, under the ambitious State Action Plan against drug abuse hundreds of policemen under the guidance of an officer of ADG rank has been dedicatedly working to completely eliminate this social evil, said the Chief Minister.
Furthermore under this plan, apart from taking strict action against drug smugglers, 18 departments of the government are engaged in spreading awareness about drug abuse, informed Sh. Manohar Lal.
He said that the Narcotic Control Bureau had last year identified the drug- hotspots based on the number of cases registered in 272 districts of the country. There are 10 districts in the state of Haryana. The police of these districts are engaged in nabbing the drug smugglers in a planned manner, added the Chief Minister.
IT equally supporting in the fight against drugs
Sh. Manohar Lal said that in the fight against drugs the support of IT is completely utilised which is further supporting in tracing the violators. Through a mobile app named ‘Prayas’, we are collecting data about drug addicts and taking effective steps for their de-addiction. As a pilot project, State Action Plan has been implemented in Kurukshetra, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Panchkula, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts, under which work is being done to upload the relevant data in Prayas App. Through a mobile app named ‘Saathi’, we are tracking the sale of medicines so that synthetic drugs can be curbed.
As a pilot project, work is being done to upload related data in the Saathi app for monitoring of banned drugs under the State Action Plan in district Sonipat. The Chief Minister suggested that in order to track such banned drugs, which are possible to be used as intoxicants, it should be made mandatory by the Central Government to get them unique serial numbers. He added that in order to create a centralized state database of all activities related to crimes, criminals, victims etc. a software HAWK has been developed. This has helped in cracking down on drug dealers.
Many programmes have been started to save children and youth from drug addiction
A programme ‘Dhakad’ has been started at the level of schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions to save children and youth from drug addiction. Under the State Action Plan prepared by the Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau, the students of all educational institutions of Haryana State are to be made aware of the ill effects of drugs and to make them aware through the proposed DHAKAD programme. Under the State Action Plan, mission teams will be formed from village and ward level to state level. These will include sarpanch, village secretary, patwari, retired military personnel, school principal, beat in-charge, numberdar, female members etc. In this way, with the participation of the general public, it will be implemented as a mass movement.
The Chief Minister said that today Haryana is a leader in sports, we are engaged in promoting sports so that the youth energies can be channelised towards other recreational activities and they shall not step in the dark world of drugs. He said that if we take steps together in coordination, then only we will be able to make northern states drug-free. It is expected that this conference will be effective in formulating a strategy to crack down on illegal drug trade in the northern states. The Chief Minister urged the Union Home Minister, Sh. Amit Shah that there is a need to take strong action against drug smugglers with a concrete strategy.
It is noteworthy that Union Minister, Dr. Virendra Kumar, Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Chandigarh, Sh. Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister, Punjab, Sh. Bhagwant Mann, Lieutenant Governor, Jammu and Kashmir, Sh. Manoj Sinha, Health Minister, Himachal Pradesh, Sh. Rajiv Saizal and other officers of NCB and police administration including Chief Secretaries of the respective states were present in the conference.
