Correspondent
SHILLONG: In a decisive move to combat the state’s growing drug crisis, the Meghalaya government is set to roll out a sweeping district-level rehabilitation and detoxification plan, backed by a strategic partnership with the Kerala Psychiatric Society (KPS). The initiative, spearheaded by the Drug Reduction, Elimination, and Action Mission (DREAM), aims to bring psychiatric support and affordable treatment to drug users across the state’s districts—especially the underserved and economically weaker sections.
Mission Director of DREAM, Francis Kharshiing, announced on Friday that the government will soon ink a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with KPS to address the acute shortage of psychiatrists in the state. “We have a target of opening rehabilitation centres in every district, if not more than one. We also have a target of opening a detox centre in every district. At the moment, we have only two detox centres run by the government. There are private detox centres, but you have to pay. So, the government is concerned about the marginal families from BPL families. Therefore, the government is keen to have a detox centre in every district,” Kharshiing told media persons. Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Kharshiing pointed out that Meghalaya’s limited psychiatric infrastructure remains a bottleneck. “We have a shortage of psychiatrists at the moment. I had a discussion with the KPC, and by next week, we will have a video conference with them, and along with the principal secretary and commissioner & secretary, we will have a discussion, and shortly we will sign an MoU with them,” he said.
The collaboration is poised to be a game-changer. “Kerala produces around 72 psychiatrists per year, and most of them are still looking for jobs. So, they are very keen to come and work with us. Depending on our discussion, we will encourage them to join us. As soon as the MoU is activated, we will start detox centres in every district,” Kharshiing added.
The state’s roadmap includes new government-run rehabilitation facilities in drug-hit zones like Tura in West Garo Hills and Nongstoin in West Khasi Hills. “Inspections of the proposed buildings for setting up these rehabilitation centres have been conducted recently at Tura and Nongstoin,” the mission director confirmed.
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