Punjab rehabs witness 11,633 new enrolments since lockdown
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 9
The ongoing lockdown due to Covid-19 is proving to be a blessing in disguise for Punjab’s fight against the drug menace.
As many as 830 addicts have made a beeline on a daily average to government and private de-addiction centres since March 23 when curfew was effectively imposed in the state.
‘cops aiding addicts’
The police have facilitated the registration of new addicts. With a complete lockdown in place, the supply line of drugs has dried up completely. This forced many addicts to approach the police.
— Dinkar Gupta, DGP
With highly restricted movement and police presence everywhere, peddlers and smugglers could not continue the flow of drugs to addicts, who came in droves to drug-addiction centres.
From March 23 to April 5, the out-patient opioid assisted treatment (OOAT) centres had registered 11,633 new cases. “This has taken the footfall to OOAT centres to almost 2.5 lakh, which is close to the estimated number of drug addicts in Punjab as per various surveys,” said DGP Dinkar Gupta.
“The Punjab Police have facilitated the registration of new addicts. With a complete lockdown in place, the supply line of drugs has dried up completely. This led many addicts to approach police or health officials through helpline 112 and 104 or through the village sapranch or municipal councillors for help for admission at a de-addiction centre,” Gupta added.
News reports from various places in the state in the past few days have shown heavy rush at de-addiction centres. “As many as 5,659 addicts were registered at government-run OOAT centres and another 5,974 were registered at private clinics,” Gupta said.
Such heavy has been the rush that the government had to relax rules regarding permission for home doses. Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said the Punjab Government on Sunday permitted 198 OOAT clinics, 35 government de-addiction centres and 108 licensed private de-addiction centres to provide take-home medicines. The dose of buprenorphine and naloxone is being provided for two weeks after an assessment by psychiatrists.
Tarn Taran SSP Dhurv Dahiya and Amritsar SSP Vikramjit Singh Duggal said the police provided a humane touch to addicts as anyone who wanted help was encouraged for de-addiction, “We have marked circles outside OOAT centres to maintain social distancing as is the requirement due to the threat of Covid,” said SSP Dhurv Dahiya.
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