Admin to start drive against drugs

Dharwad: The district administration will take stringent measures to end the menace of narcotic drugs in educational institutions and other places and officials will pay surprise visits to schools and colleges.
Deputy commissioner Gurudatt Hegde, chairing the first meeting of the district narco coordination committee that was made under the Centre’s directive, on Thursday said that it was the responsibility of all educational institutions to create awareness about the ill effects of ganja, opium and other narcotic drugs and prevent students from falling prey to the substances. He said teams of officials would visit educational institutions and hostels and start criminal action if the use of these substances was found.
He said all the schools, PU and degree colleges and Universities should keep complaint boxes for students to air their grievances regarding use of banned drugs. Already COPTA is in force and sale and consumption of tobacco in the vicinity of educational institutions is a crime, he added.
SP Lokesh Jagalasar said the purpose of constituting the committee was to take measures to protect children from falling prey to drugs and all students, parents and teachers should take steps.
He said officials of the agriculture department should check fields where ganja is grown.