Srinagar: Advisor to Governor, K Vijay Kumar on Tuesday chaired a meeting to discuss the strategy to be adopted to handle drug abuse in the state. The meeting also discussed the measures already taken by the state government to eliminate this curb and action plan to effectively deal with drug abuse.
The meeting was attended by IG Crime Ahfadul Mujtaba, Excise Commissioner M Raju, Secretary Law Achal Sethi, Drug Controller DFCO Lotika Khajuria, Joint Director FSL Srinagar Aga Aijaz Hussain and other concerned officers.
During the meeting, deliberations were held on various issues that need to be addressed to have a strong and effective mechanism to curb drug menace in the state. Role and responsibility of all the stakeholders in the process was discussed in detail and were asked to undertake coordinated efforts in this regard.
The meeting decided that all the Deputy Commissioners be involved for proper community participation so that public is directly involved in the process of keeping our youth away from getting addicted to the substance abuse.
While discussing the role of Excise department in putting a strong check on entry of drugs to the state, the Advisor asked Excise Commissioner and Drug Controller to work in a coordinated manner to stop the trafficking of drugs to the state.
With regard to the use of Drug Helpline started by Drugs & Food Control Organization, the Advisor asked for properly publicizing the number so that people start using this platform to join the fight against drug abuse. Meanwhile, the progress on prosecution and conviction made in the cases registered under NDPS Act were also reviewed.
Drug Controller was asked to control the misuse of some drugs which are easily available in the market and are dangerous for use. It was also asked to identify those drugs and recommend them to the concerned agency for notifying them under NDPS Act.
Besides, working of drug de addiction and rehabilitation centers established by Jammu Kashmir Police was also reviewed during the meeting. Progress of drug cases being investigated by State Forensic Labs was also discussed, the Advisor asked FSL officers to prioritize the cases as per their importance so that same can be investigated and disposed of in minimum time. (GNS)
