Gurdaspur: Involve local residents to nab drug peddlers, says DIG
Gurdaspur, July 9
The efforts made by DIG (Border Range) Rakesh Kaushal to involve civil society activists in the fight against drugs, particularly heroin, elicited a positive response as he presided over a packed house of concerned parents and other stakeholders at a meeting held in the Police Lines today.
Almost all officers of Gurdaspur police district, including SSP Harish Dayama, were present.
The battle against drugs in this border district is in full swing with the cops identifying and subsequently raiding houses and other hideouts of smugglers. Last month, three young men were found dead after being injected by an overdose of heroin in Deeda Sansian village, notorious for sale of drugs. The development triggered a series of raids in which substantial quantities of heroin were recovered from Deeda Sansian and its adjoining villages falling in Dinanagar police district.
DIG Kaushal said some residents told him that committees comprising local residents and police officers should be formed to check the sale of heroin in narrow alleys. “When we raid a house located in a narrow street, the smugglers invariably escape making use of local conditions. Now we plan to involve residents of those areas to make sure smugglers do not escape taking advantage of the narrow streets,” said an anti-drug enforcement officer.
This is the third meeting that the DIG has presided over in the last one week.
The problem of drug consumption is all the more pronounced in this border district because of Pakistani drones which drop contraband in villages located near the international border. The contraband is later brought and distributed in Gurdaspur city and its satellite towns.
The DIG exhorted principals and teachers of schools to hold seminars which will educate students about the ill-effects of drugs.
In his address, Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Vishesh Sarangal urged parents to double up their efforts to ensure that their children do not fall prey to drugs. He also urged school heads to make sure that drugs were not sold in the vicinity of their institutions.
Romesh Mahajan, Project Director, Red Cross De-addiction Centre, urged the state government to ease the supply of Buprenorphine tablets, which are used to treat addicts. “My centre is full of young people wanting to let go of heroin addiction. However, I have my hands tied behind my back as Buprenorphine is not available. I have requested the Health Department several times to ensure that the supply of tablets should not be regulated, it should instead be given freely to de-addiction centres,” said Mahajan.
