DC directs officials to raise awareness on drug abuse among youth in Kinnaur

A district-level meeting was today organised under the ‘Drug-free India campaign’ at the office of Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Sharma.

During the meeting, Sharma emphasised the need to raise awareness among the youth of Kinnaur regarding the harmful effects of drugs. He also stressed the importance of curbing drug trafficking through police efforts, with the goal of making Kinnaur a drug-free district and setting an example for the state and nation. He urged the health, education, police, and social justice departments to establish better coordination to ensure that overlapping issues were avoided and tangible improvements were made in eradicating drug abuse.

The DC directed the Health and Education Departments to regularly inform students about the dangers of drug use and focus on mental health and psychiatric counselling to inspire them to take part in positive activities. He also said the information regarding drug peddlers could be reported on a mobile app provided by the district police, adding that the identity of the informant would be kept confidential.

Superintendent of Police Abhishek Shekhar conducted the meeting and presented a detailed report on the actions taken by the Police Department against drug traffickers. He appealed to the public to support the police in their fight against drug trafficking, strengthening the ongoing campaign against drug abuse.

Additionally, the meeting included a detailed discussion on the campaign being conducted under the COTPA Act, 2003, and in-depth deliberations on rehabilitation centres established by the Health Department for drug-affected youth.

District Welfare Officer Balbir Thakur said efforts were being made to engage the youth in sports activities, with various sports events being organised at the district, panchayat and block levels. He also said awareness programmes under the campaign would be organised in various gram sabhas of the district on October 2.