13 addict youths from Qazi Mandi taken for treatment

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 17

As many as 13 drug addicts from the most notorious zone of the city – Qazi Mandi — were taken to the district de-addiction centre here on Tuesday.

Qazi Mandi councillor Palani Appan and Congress leader Varinder Sharma, along with the local police personnel caught hold of the youths addicted with drugs and convinced them to get admitted to the de-addiction centre. All youths, aged between 18-35 years, were contemplated as chronic addicts by doctors at the centre. Senior doctor Sanjay Khanna said one of the addicts was shifted to the medical specialists while rest of them were prescribed a few tests and referred to the ORT centre.

The police and the Reader of the SHO at the Surya Enclave police post said after organising an awareness camp and motivational sessions at the Qazi Mandi mohalla, the councillor and the Rama Mandi SHO persuaded addicted youths to get themselves treated for free at the de-addiction centre. They were compelled on the pretext that no criminal proceedings would be inflicted upon them.

ACP Mandeep Singh Gill, who accompanied the youths to the hospital, said as per the government initiative, the police had aimed to fetch the maximum number of druggists to the centre. In addition, these youths from Qazi Mandi were taken to the centre only after the camp was conducted.

When asked about further investigation on the main supply of the intoxicants to the Qazi Mandi area, he said at present, the police were only focused on availing the benefit of free treatment for addicts hailing from poor families.

However, a 33-year-old addict claimed that they were provided ‘chitta’ at Baldev Nagar by some local peddlers. He said suppliers from Haryana and Delhi also used to call them at an isolated place in Baldev Nagar to buy ‘chitta’ from them. Another addict said intoxicants were also supplied in Qazi Mandi by some of the peddlers coming from border areas of Amritsar.

On curbing the growing number of druggists in the area, councillor Palani Appan and Varinder Sharma said they had adopted a three-tier formula to prevent the increasing number of peddlers in the area.

Sharma said firstly, the addicts would be motivated to get rid of intoxicants and sent to the centre. In addition, he said, FIR would also be lodged against the peddlers if they won’t stop supplying drugs in the area.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s initiative to provide free treatment for poor drug addicts at all state-run de-addiction centres seems to be going smoothly in the district de-addiction centre.  Till now, around 40-50 addicts had been brought to the centre, claimed Dr Khanna.

Though most of the villagers were not aware about the free treatment drive, police personnel and other officials were  searching for the addicts and bringing them to the centre.