SRINAGAR, JULY 25: Advisor to Governor KK Sharma has termed the drug menace as main challenge confronting the nation for which concrete measures are needed as a multi-pronged strategy for the remedial measures.
The Advisor was speaking at the 2nd Regional Conference on Drug Menace–Challenges and Strategies held at Chandigarh where he was representing Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Ministers of the northern states including Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand attended and presented the viewpoints and suggestions of their respective Governments.
The Advisor said that the challenges being posed by the increasing drug menace in the country have reached a worrisome figure and taking necessary steps for its prevention and eradication is the need of the hour.
While referring to the rising addiction rates among youth nationally and in accordance with the Prime Minister’s slogan of fighting three Ds i:e Drug addiction, Depression and Diabetes, the Advisor said the Govt of Jammu and Kashmir has come up with a comprehensive policy for Drug De-addiction which incidentally is country’s second comprehensive De-addiction policy. The need has been accentuated as the state has been witnessing a significant rise in drug and substance related cases, he added.
While referring to the Policy introduced by the state the Advisor said pertinently it is the second document in India after Punjab drafted for de-addiction. Our de-addiction policy in comparison to other policies has thrust on demand deduction rather than harm deduction, he added.
“I would like to bring forth the fact that following implementation there is a massive multi-pronged strategy from various stake holders to limit the problem of drug addiction to minimal. From awareness campaigns to war on availability to treatment of affected all areas are being addressed in a sustained and goal directed way”, the Advisor added.
The Advisor said that it would also be helpful to exchange the best practices of States in countering drug menace. Similarly, the experiment of JK Police drug de-addiction centers to cater to borderline cases is an example, he added.
In a joint statement issued at the end of the conference, the Chief Ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, joined by top officials from Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh, the States agreed on a series of powerful measures to eradicate the scourge from the region.
These included joint operations at the inter-state borders, information-sharing and implementation of the best practices of the participating states. There was a consensus among the states on the importance of strengthening the information-sharing mechanism on drugs and drug dealers/smugglers, for a more effective crackdown against them.
It was agreed that all states would launch major awareness programmes and strive to make eradication of drugs a peoples movement. The conference recognized drugs as a national problem, requiring collective efforts of all the states for its successful eradication.
