5,000 beds available at de-addiction centres across Punjab: Health Minister
Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh, who is also a part of the five member committee to make Punjab drug free, said here today that 5,000 beds were available at government hospitals for addicts undergoing de-addiction treatment in the state. The minister was here on Monday to review the working of Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centres/clinics and discuss drug de-addiction strategy.
The minister also held a meeting with district officials and MLAs of the ruling party. Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, MLAs Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, Jasvinder Singh Ramdas and Jasbir Singh Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, SSP (Rural) Maninder Singh Sonia, Drug De-addiction Morcha Coordinator Sonia Mann and senior officials of several departments were present at the meeting.
The minister claimed that the campaign launched by the government to make Punjab drug free had started yielding results. He further claimed that drug addicts in large numbers were contacting OOAT centres. Keeping this in view 5,000 beds were provided at de-addiction centres across the state.
Balbir Singh said no leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had ever helped a drug peddler. He said the government’s policy was clear that an addict would be treated and a drug peddler would be thrown in jail. He said the government would not only provide help in de-addiction of addicts, but also ensure that the youth were completely rehabilitated and brought in mainstream.
The minister said all illegal de-addiction centres in the district had been shut down and the capacity of government centres was increased so that addicted youth get quality care and proper medical facilities.
Talking about the preparedness of the department in dealing with water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases, the minister said health teams would visit all 65 lakh houses in the state. He said teams would create awareness among residents how to prevent contracting such diseases.
