International Day Against Drug Abuse & illicit Trafficking

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 26

On the occasion of “International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking”, a large number of reformed persons (who have given up drugs) on Saturday pledged to wage a war against the drug menace in the district.

In a unique initiative, the Commissionerate Police roped in a number of reformed persons and asked them to share their experiences to disseminate the message of carving a drug-free district by encouraging other addicts to come out of this vicious circle.

During the function organised in association with Bolster Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre at the local Police Lines, some reformed persons shared their experiences in the presence of Member Parliament Chaudhary Santokh Singh, MLAs Sushil Rinku and Rajinder Beri, Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori. They stated that addiction to drugs was not in the interest of any human being. They said dependence on drugs ruined families and everyone. They shared incidents of losing their jobs and getting financially drained. They said the motivation of shunning drugs would come from within and the support of the family and professional counsellors was a must.

The MP threw light on the efforts being made by the state government to wipe out the menace of drugs from the state. He highlighted the efforts of NGOs in tackling this menace by creating awareness among masses through campaigns.

MLAs Sushil Rinku and Rajinder Beri lauded the efforts of Commissionerate Police in organising such a seminar to apprise people of the ill-effects of drug abuse through the victims themselves. They assured the administration of their support in its future endeavours against this menace.

The Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner said the motive of roping in people who had already bear the brunt was to ensure that the people who have suffered woes must narrate their tales from their mouth to the masses.

They said it would exhort addicts that if others could shun drugs, then why couldn’t they. Both the officers say if a person has will power it was quite easy to shun the menace of drugs but due to social stigma attached to the menace, it needs a lot of courage to come forward and tell the people.

SSP, Jalandhar Rural, Naveen Singla got a cycle rally organised at Kartarpur to mark the day. He along with other police officers participated in the rally and spread awareness about the drug menace. Singla said to further raise awareness against the scourage of drugs, a week-long awareness drive would be launched in the district as announced by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh during a state-level virtual event to mark the occasion.

Share experience

• In a unique initiative, the Police Commissionerate roped in a number of reformed persons and asked them to share their experiences to disseminate the message of carving a drug-free district by encouraging other addicts to come out of this vicious circle.
• They said addiction to drugs was not in the interest of any human being. They said dependence on drugs ruined families and everyone. They shared incidents of losing their jobs and getting financially drained. They said the motivation of shunning drugs would come from within.