Chairs NCORD meeting to combat Drug menace; 52 drug peddlers booked under PITs-PSA/PSA, 162 FIRs registered against Narco smugglers, over 269 arrested during current year

To review the different steps taken to curb the drug abuse and narcotic trade in Srinagar, a District Level Committee of Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) was held today under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad here at Conference Hall of the DC Office Complex.

At the outset, the Deputy Commissioner discussed threadbare various issues related to menace of drug addiction, areas of concern, hot spots of drug peddling/abuse besides, measures undertaken to break the chain of drug peddling and its consumption in the District to save youth from the ill effects of the drugs.

Also Read: Kashmiri doctors bring laurel winning top prizes in national competition

The Deputy Commissioner also held deliberations with regard to activation of Digital Interface for faceless Consent by victims of drug abuse for Tele Counseling and Rehabilitation.

On the occasion, the DC stressed upon the Officers of all the line Departments including Enforcement agencies to ensure better coordination in enforcing greater deterrence to combat dangerous trade of drug-trafficking. He said that efforts with Cooperation, Coordination and Collaboration are vital to contain the drug peddling and break the supply chain, besides taking stringent action against the culprits involved in the hazardous trade of drugs.

The DC said in order to combat this rising societal problem, multi-pronged Rehabilitation, Counselling and Guidance policy is indispensable to be implemented on ground to monitor drug abuse and take remedial measures to curb the menace. He sought cooperation from the families particularly from parents to overcome the menace among the youth which also leads to other social evils and crimes.

He said Religious Heads, Influencers and Parents have an important role to keep the youngsters away from the use of drugs and also the family support for the affected people could lead them towards normal and better life.

The DC said the drug menace is a major threat to the socio-economic structure and it has become imperative for the entire society to come together to uproot this menace and work as a strong entity to make Srinagar a healthy and drugs free District. He further underscored that Srinagar Administration has adopted a zero tolerance policy against drug suppliers and traffickers under the MISSION WAAPSI initiative.

The DC said it is a collective responsibility of all the sections of society to join this fight against drug menace and called upon all the stakeholders particularly Imams, Khateebs, Religious Heads, Public representatives to extend their cooperation to District Administration with determined efforts and proactive approach to bring the youth of Srinagar out of darkness of drugs addiction.

The DC also emphasised on conducting awareness campaigns on mass scale using popular mass media tools against drug menace to sensitize the youth about hazards and ill effects of consuming drugs. The DC also laid stress on strengthening the rehabilitation centre and their effective functioning.

In order to provide immediate guidance and counseling to affected persons, the Deputy Commissioner asked for activating Digital Interface for faceless Consent by victims of drug abuse for Tele Counseling and Rehabilitation which shall be made available soon through online mode with added features.

Under this initiative, the Citizens of the District can enroll with District Administration through a Weblink as a volunteer to help in reporting/eradicate the drug menace from their areas.

The victims of substance abuse desirous to get rehabilitation facility from Administration can also register themselves through the Weblink without disclosing their real identity.

On the occasion the Officers apprised about the present status with regard to the drug menace and shared their views and suggestive measures to be taken at District level to control the drug peddling and its consumption, besides rehabilitation measures for drug victims.

During the meeting, SP Headquarter, apprised the chair about the overall scenario of drug abuse in Srinagar and measures taken to curb the menace. He also informed the meeting that a large number of drug affected persons visited the Youth Development and Rehabilitation Centre at Eidgah for treatment and most of them were successfully treated.

With regard to containment of drug peddling, it was given out that 30 peddlers have been detained under Narco PSA and 22 under PIT NDPS in the District and about 269 persons involved in the trafficking of the drug menace were put behind the bars.

Also Read: BF.7 variant unlikely to cause new wave of Covid-19: Doctors’ body

Pertinent to mention that Srinagar Administration had launch MISSION WAAPSI initiative to eliminate drug menace from the District with the aim to REHABILITATE victims of Drug addiction by providing them dignified LIVELIHOOD through proper handholding, Skill Development and guidance under Government Self-Employment schemes. The initiative involves community participation on a massive scale.

Among others, the meeting was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Dr Syed Haneef Balkhi, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Syed Bashir, Superintendent of Police, Arif Shah, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jameel, Deputy Drug Controller, Nighat Jabeen, Chief Agriculture Officer, Mohammad Younis, Assistant Commissioner, Revenue, Raies Ahmad, SDM East, Murtaza Ahmad, SDM West, Primroze Bashir, District Social Welfare Officer, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, Deputy CEO, Anjum Raja, Tehsildar Headquarter, Imtiyaz Amin Naik, Incharge Drug De-addiction Centre SMHS Hospital, Dr Yasir Rather.

While Zonal Director Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB), Rajesh Kumar participated in the meeting through virtual mode and threw light on various dimensions related to drug abuse and its peddling.