By Janardan Misra
Dehradun, 18 Jul: Claiming that more than 13,500 drug addicts have been identified and kept under surveillance, Dehradun SSP Daleep Singh Kunwar said that only law enforcement agencies cannot control drug use if support of family members and teachers is not there.
Speaking to Garhwal Post, SSP said that police functions in proper channels to control drug trafficking among youngsters. Police adopt identification, surveillance, family involvement, medication and counseling with drug addicts to make them sober citizens again.
Kunwar said that in major cases it was revealed that youngsters themselves were selling drugs to their companions. In some cases, drug addicts were getting their drugs from nearby districts of UP including Bareilly, Moradabad and Rampur in small quantities and then further selling it in their closed groups.
In a virtual meeting with Union Home minister Amit Shah, yesterday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had stated that 742 perpetrators were arrested for drug peddling this year. He said that anti-drug clubs were formed in every district with coordination of parents and teachers.
CM Dhami disclosed that four integrated rehabilitation centres for addicts were established in the state. Also, addiction treatment facility was provided with help of AIIMS Delhi to deal with such cases.
The SSP said that the role of parents and teachers is crucial in such cases as they can easily observe changes in behaviour and health condition and identify a drug addict at the initial stage. After identification, proper counselling and further surveillance can help in recovering from that condition.
He said that girls are also falling in the trap of drug addiction and parents should keep strict vigil. Though the ratio of girls trapped in drug-abuse is low but it’s alarming that girls from rich families are getting addicted.
The SSP claimed that 90 percent of drug addicted youth can be rehabilitated and live healthy lives if family and teachers can identify the symptoms, counsel them and de-addiction procedures are followed. He said that coordination of parents with teachers has become weak these days which enhances chances of youngsters trapped in drug consumption.
Recent cases have revealed that children from 9th standard to graduation level are easily trapped by such drug peddlers. The modus operandi of drug peddling has also changed and addicted youth are peddling drugs in small quantities for money.
