States push for ‘one nation, one portal’ to curb drug menace

In a concerted move to curb the illegal supply of psychotropic formulations and tackle the menace of spurious drugs, the drug regulatory authorities of five northern states have called upon the Central Government to establish a “One nation, one dedicated portal” accessible to all enforcement agencies.

The proposal emerged during an inter-state meeting of the drug authorities in Chandigarh last evening. The officials emphasised the urgent need to track psychotropic formulations from manufacturers to retailers, with stronger inter-state coordination.

Lotika Khajuria, State Drugs Controller (SDC), Jammu and Kashmir; Sanjeev Garg, SDC, Punjab; Lalit Goel, SDC, Haryana; Tajber Singh, SDC, Uttarakhand, and Akhilesh Jain, a representative of Uttar Pradesh Government attended the meeting. State Drugs Controller Dr Manish Kapoor represented Himachal Pradesh.

Senior officials, including Jitender Sanjta, Director, Health Safety and Regulations, Himachal; Gyaneshwar Singh, Additional Director General of Police (CID); Manoj Singh, Commissioner, Food and Drugs Administration, Haryana; and Mohit Handa, SP, Narcotics Control Bureau, Haryana, also addressed paricipants at the meeting. “An internal coordination mechanism among neighbouring states was framed to ensure continuous communication on issues related to spurious drugs and diversion of psychotropic formulations for illegal use,” Kapoor said. — TNS