Led by Member Parliament Chaudhry Santokh Singh, MLAs Sushil Rinku, and Rajinder Beri, Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori, a large number of reformed drug dependents today on the occasion of `International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking' pledge to wage a war against the drug menace in the district.In a unique initiative, the Commissionerate Police roped in a number of reformed drug dependents, who had shelved this menace, to disseminate the message of carving a drug free district by encouraging the other drug dependents to come out of this vicious circle.During the function organized in association with Bolster Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre at the local Police Line, the reformed drug dependents shared their experiences in the presence of MP, MLAs, DC and CP. They stated that addiction to drugs was not in the interest of any human being. They said that dependence on drugs creates havoc for the family and ruins everyone. They said that the motivation of shunning the drugs comes from inside and support of family was must for that.Addressing the gathering, Member Parilament Chaudhry Santokh Singh threw light on the efforts being made by the state government to wipe out the menace of drugs from the state. He highlited the efforts of NGOs in tackling this menace by creating awareness among masses through campaigns. He said that Drug Abuse Prevention Officer (DAPO) and Buddy program has been started by the state government to create massive awareness on the issue, which has yielded positive results in terms of sensitizing people against this menace.
MLAs Sushil Rinku and Rajinder Beri lauded the efforts of Commissionerate Police in organizing such a seminar to appraise people of the ill-effects of drug abuse through victims itself. They assured administration of their support in its future endeavours against this menace.The Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner said that the motive of roping in people who have already bear the brunt was to ensure that the people who have suffered woes must narrate their tales from their mouth to the masses. They said that it would sensitize the drug dependents that if others could shun the menace of drugs then why couldn’t they. Both the officers said that if a person has will power it was quite easy to shun the menace of drugs but due to social stigma attached to the menace, it needs a lot of courage to come forward and tell the people that I had left this scourge.The Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner said that the motive of organizing this experience sharing interactive session was to ensure that more and more drug dependents could be benefitted from it. They also said that more such sessions would be organized in the coming days to make eliminate the curse of drugs from the district. Both the officers also solicited fulsome support and cooperation from the people for this noble cause.Meanwhile, the MP, MLAs, CP and DC felicitated the young counsellors who were rendering their services at de-addiction centres.Prominent among others present on the occasion included DCPs Gurmeet Singh, Jagmohan Singh, Naresh Dogra, Jasbir Rishi officiating Vice Chancellor of Dav university, and Psychiatric Dr. Gaganjot Singh.