Monitoring panel to inspect Valley’s private de-addiction centres from March

Irfan Tramboo

Srinagar, Feb 22: The divisional-level Drug De-addiction Centres Monitoring Committee which has been constituted under the Government’s Drug De-Addiction Policy is all set to carry out the inspection of the private drug de-addiction centres across Kashmir to ascertain the manpower as well as the facilities available.
In this regard, the Drug De-addiction Centres Monitoring Committee for Kashmir has held a meeting attended by its designated members in which it has been decided that a surprise inspection of the private drug de-addiction centres across Kashmir will be held from March this year to ascertain the facilities being provided by them along with the fulfilment of other requisites necessary for running the drug de-addiction centres.
The meeting of the Monitoring Committee—constituted by the Health & Medical Education (H&ME) Department as per the policy—in this connection was held to outline strategies to tackle the drug menace in Kashmir valley. The meeting which was held virtually was attended by members from the Psychiatry Department of Govt Medical College, Srinagar Civil Society and the Anti-Narcotics Task Force.
“The meeting decided on the conduct of inspection as mandated under the Drug De-Addiction Policy which was adopted in 2019, starting from March and once that is done, a detailed report will be submitted to the Government along with the findings as well as the recommendations,” those privy to the meeting told Excelsior.
While the concerned department has not yet provided the list of private drug de-addiction centres functional across Kashmir, the committee is expecting the same in a few days after which a plan for the conduct of the inspection of these centres will be chalked out to ensure robust set-up at drug de-addiction centres in Kashmir.
As per the Drug De-Addiction Policy, Drug De-addiction Centres Monitoring Committees formed both in Kashmir as well as in Jammu have been mandated to inspect the existing de-addiction facilities in J&K and grant or cancel licenses, whatever applicable, after thorough and proper inspection of infrastructure, manpower and standards of care.
Also, all the new de-addiction facilities will have to apply to the division level committee for a grant of license for the establishment of de-addiction facilities, aimed at addressing the drug menace in J&K.
As per the policy, Drug De-addiction Centres Monitoring Committees has also been mandated to advise various stakeholders from time to time to implement de-addiction policy on the ground even as This committee has also been tasked to ensure the monitoring of prescription drug abuse and suggest remedial measures to drug controller.