135 FIRs registered, 30 peddlers slapped with PSA: Police
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Nov 25: The district administration in Srinagar has directed all the concerned officials to ensure that the victims of drug addiction are not stigmatized apart from being treated as people seeking treatment for some medical condition.
The directives were passed during the meeting of the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) which was held here in which several officers from various departments participated and shared their insights on the action plan to curb the drug abuse and narcotics trade in the district.
It was also informed by the representatives of the district police that concerning the containment of drug peddling, the PSA has been slapped against 30 peddlers in the district and about 50 such persons involved in the trafficking of the drug menace are behind the bars.
Officials privy to the meeting said that it was also stated by the police that 135 FIRs have been so far registered against drug peddlers and narcotic smugglers while over 200 arrests in this regard were made during the current year.
The Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar who chaired the meeting discussed threadbare various issues related to the menace of drug addiction, areas of concern, age group of addicts, and hot spots of drug peddling, while he laid stress on the importance of measures to curb and prevent the cultivation of illicit poppy and cannabis in the District.
All the line Departments, particularly the members of the NCORD, which was constituted by the Government, were directed to reinforce the steps at different levels to combat drug trafficking and ensure better coordination among the departments.
The officials were directed to conduct awareness camps in schools and colleges across the districts on a mass scale to sensitize the youth about the hazards and ill effects of consuming drugs.
The participants of the meeting-which was held to look for ways to control the drug abuse menace in the district-were directed to ensure the prevention of drug abuse among youth.
During the meeting, it was noted that the necessary measures will be adopted to ensure that the drug abusers come forward for treatment and that they are not stigmatised and are accepted as normal people seeking treatment for some medical condition.
He asked the line departments dealing with drug abusers directly to encourage them to share success stories of de-addiction through electronic and social media, taking care of respecting their privacy.
During the meeting, the DC also called for dealing with abusers and addicts with utmost care and sensitivity and cracking the whip against drug peddlers who are responsible for victimizing innocent youth into this menace.
The officers were directed to work in coordinated efforts to contain the drug peddling to break the supply chain and take stringent action against the persons involved in the dangerous trade of drugs while it was informed that to combat this rising societal problem, multi-pronged rehabilitation, counselling and guidance policy is being implemented on the ground to monitor drug abuse and take remedial measures to curb the menace.
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