Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein exhorts youth to stay away from drugs

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein urged upon the youths of the State to shun drugs and to take responsibility for building up the society.

The Deputy Chief Minister said this on Thursday at Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district, during a flag-off ceremony of a vehicle carrying six drug abuse victims selected for rehabilitation at Guwahati through the anti drug squad drive of the district police. Mein said that the youth were the future of the country and should participate in nation building activities and not fall prey to the drug menace.

He advised them to launch a crusade against drugs after returning from the rehabilitation centre, by initiating a mass awareness campaign in the district so that the message reached every nook and corner of the State.

He asked the youth to associate actively in the mainstream activities instead of leading passive lives and commended the initiative of Roing Police for educating the youth regarding the ill effects of drugs.

While lauding the efforts of SP SK Sain, Mein said that it is police which first encounters drug abuse victims and the rehabilitation effort is an example that a dedicated police unit could perform beyond its chartered path of duties, an official communique informed here.

Sain briefed the Deputy Chief Minister about the Anti-Drug Squad (Crime Unit) which is an unique concept, created with dedicated police unit and entrusted for containment of drug abuse in the district by arresting drug peddlers and suppliers.

The SP informed that to tackle drug-abuse on war-footing, Roing Police in the past had formed anti-drug squad and till date has been extremely successful through their efforts to register more than 20 cases under relevant narcotics laws.

“So far 67 drug peddlers have been arrested and huge quantity of narcotics seized,” the SP disclosed.

He highlighted that to ensure complete eradication of the drug menace the district police has delved into counselling and rehabilitation of victims of drug-abuse and to had drafted a road-map with the inauguration of a dedicated counselling centre at Roing Police station by Home Minister Bamang Felix besides, formation of anti-drug squad rehabilitation unit in Roing.

The SP added that under the rehabilitation programme, a dedicated rehabilitation unit started off its mission with creating a registry of active users in the district.

“After creation of the registry with the help of medical officials, health camps were organised followed by multiple counselling sessions and fitness camps for the selected drug abuse victims,” the SP said.

The venture is a zero budget program with the entire rehabilitation drive being done in collaboration with corporates and funded through their CSR schemes, Sain added.

Also Watch: Six-mile to Ganeshguri Road Closed due to Overbridge construction; Public inconvenienced.