Drive to eradicate menace of drug abuse

Our Correspondent

Phagwara, March 19

With the launch of the Drug Abuse Prevention Officers (DAPO) programme, seven days away, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate Phagwara Jyoti Bala hold a meeting at Phagwara on Saturday.

The DAPO programme would be launched by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on March 23 at Khatkarkalan village on Shaheedi Diwas of Bhagat Singh.

The Chief Minister will administer the oath to DAPO volunteers across the state.

The SDM said the motive of the drive was to have ‘Nasha Mukt Mohallas (NMMs)’. The work on enrolling volunteers for the programme has already begun in the subdivision.

She said to implement the programme effectively and for reaching the grassroots level, the district mission teams would be constituted wherein DC, SSP, Civil Surgeons and other officials would be the active members.

The same module would be replicated at the subdivision and village-level. “The application forms for becoming DAPO volunteers can be collected from ‘saanjh kendras’, she added.

The SDM said, “Once drug addicts start coming out of the closet, they will be put under de-addiction treatment for which unique identity cards will be issued to the patients.” She said after the subdivisional meeting 23 clusters have been formed at villages while five mission teams for five wards would work in the town. Naib Tehsildar Swapandeep Kaur was also present on the occasion.