‘In a first, Drug Rehabilitation Centre to come up in South Dinajpur soon’

BALURGHAT: South Dinajpur district administration is going to set up a state-run Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) for the first time in this district.

Bijin Krishna, District Magistrate, South Dinajpur said: “We have taken up an initiative to establish a Drug Rehabilitation Centre in South Dinajpur. A proposal in this regard will be sent from the district to the state for approval. Besides, all private Drug Rehabilitation Centres of this district will be brought under the district administration and surveillance will be carried out. A massive campaign will be conducted across the district for mass awareness against the menace of drug addiction.”

According to him, there is no state-run DRC in South Dinajpur.

Incidentally, the administration is taking up a special initiative to free South Dinajpur from drugs and its addiction.

Recently the DM held a high-level meeting with the officials of police, BSF and Health department at the district administrative building in Balurghat. It has been decided that various departments will carry out different activities, including campaigning against the fatal consequences of using drugs. In the meeting, the matter of establishing a state-run DRC was also discussed. A decision was taken in the meeting that a special training will be given to the officials and workers associated with the work in this connection.

According to an official source, many unlicensed private DRCs are being run across the district. Most have no license or proper infrastructure to treat the patients.

In 2022, an inebriated youth was beaten to death in the name of treatment at one such DRC in Balurghat’s Paranpur. Apart from sealing it, its owner was arrested by the police. Similarly, another DRC was sealed by the police in Hili’s Kamarpara area in the same year.