In a bid to treat drug addicts through proper counseling as a part of state government's campaign to eliminate drug addiction from the state, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has directed the senior officers of the Health & Family Welfare Department to conduct interviews of Psychiatrist doctors at New Delhi on August 2, to avail their expertise and experience for the rehabilitation of drug addicts in the mainstream of life.Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that the state government has already established a network of drug de-addiction centers to detoxify the drug addicts adding that currently, as many as 21 drug de-addiction centers were operational in the state to carry out the crusade initiated by the state government against drugs. The fresh selection of Psychiatrist doctors was being done to fill the shortage and to provide better medical services in these centers, added the spokesperson.
The spokesperson further said that state government had recently conducted a walk-in-interview on June 28 during which four Psychiatrist doctors were selected by the Health and Family Welfare department. As the Health department already had 32 Psychiatrist doctors so now the strength of these Doctors has risen to 36. In addition, the state government has also given nod for recruiting 16 more Psychiatrists on regular basis.
Reiterating the state government's firm commitment to fight against the menace of drug abuse, the spokesperson said that the Chief Minister was himself monitoring the state wide campaign launched on a war footing to eliminate this menace. Likewise, the spokesperson further said that on the personal initiative of the Chief Minister, the state government had planned to construct 22 Rehabilitation Centers, one in every district across the state, side by side the existing network of de-addiction centers. In these Rehabilitation Centers, the addicts would be provided post detoxification treatment through expert Psychiatrists and Counselors so that these former drug addicts could lead their normal life and join society back in a dignified manner.