Sensitizing the concerned government departments in particular and the society in general about the menace of drugs abuse, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Tuesday underlined the need of identifying the scale and magnitude of the problem for coordinated response for its eradication.“We should act promptly and effectively to nip the evil in bud”, he told the high level officers at a meeting he chaired here today in which a team from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) made PowerPoint presentation on the subject.Omar Abdullah said that all concerned along with the civil society have to work in coordination and under one umbrella to check the drugs abuse and save the young generation falling prey to this menace. He said that an effective follow up mechanism after counseling and treatment of drug addicts also needs to be put in place to help stop the recycling of treated drug addicts. He said that a comprehensive policy to tackle the problem and chop off its tentacles is the need of the hour. He directed for drafting a policy for the State to address the issue more effectively.“We cannot wait for taking immediate measures to tackle the problem as there is every apprehension that it may attain greater magnitude and dimension if not addressed well in time in a coordinated manner”, he said adding that awareness and involvement of NGOs are the two most aspects needing focusing for the purpose, said a statement issued to KNS.
The meeting among others was attended by Minister for Health and Medical Education, Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Minister of State for Animal and Sheep Husbandry, N. A. Gurezi, Minister of State for Home, Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo, Principal Secretary Home, Suresh Kumar, Director General Police, K. Rajindra, Commissioner Secretary Health, Gazanffer Hussain, Secretary Social Welfare, M. S. Rather and various senior officers were present in the meeting. The UNODC team offered its help to the State in three important aspects of Normative Work, Technical Assistance and Research Policy Analysis to built a complete data on the issue and take appropriate measures to curb the menace effectively.The Director General Police informed the meeting that in the Rehabilitation and Treatment Centres more than 5000 drug addicts have been treated. The Commissioner Secretary Health and Secretary Social Welfare also mentioned various measures presently under implementation to control the misuse of drugs. (KNS)