War on drugs in HP: Govt says can't wait anymore

Shimla: Finally, there is a wake-up call to deal with burgeoning drug menace among youths in Himachal Pradesh.

Admitting that drug abuse among school and college going students and teenagers have put the hill state on a warning, almost like Punjab a few years back, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur wants to lead from the front.

"A holistic campaign to eradicate drug abuse from State will be launched by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on November, 2019," state's Chief Secretary Dr. Shrikant Baldi announced on Monday, after he presided over a meeting on Prevention of Drug Abuse and Alcoholism.

Baldi said this drive is going to be state's most combative action against the drug abuse, which has assumed a serious and alarming promotion in the gentle state, known for its peace and environment.

"Social Justice and empowerment department has been appointed as the nodal department for this special campaign to take care of all possible action-oriented drive to cover key areas ; preventive, curative, punitive, counselling, rehabilitation and mainstreaming of the issue." he said

The government will constitute vigilance and monitoring committees at district, sub division, block and gram panchayat level with full involvement of law makers, members of civil societies, Panchayati Raj Institutions, yuvak mandals, mahila mandals, self help groups and NGOs.

As par data available with the government 55 to 60 percent of the youths, most of them college and school going teenagers, are either drug abusers or addicts and even peddlers.