ITANAGAR, 4 Sep: The Itanagar capital region (ICR) administration, in collaboration with the Ward No 10 corporator, organized a ‘cleanliness drive-cum-drug awareness session’ at the southern gate of Itafort here on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, IMC Mayor Tame Phassang said that “the concept of saaf Itanagar, sunder Itanagar abhiyan should not be confined to cleaning of garbage and surroundings, etc. The safai abhiyan should have a broader meaning to clean every evil in the society, like the drugs menace, encroachment, communalism, and gender discrimination.”
Responding to the various demands placed by Corporator Yukar Yaro for the welfare of her ward, the mayor gave assurance that “all demands will be met once the demand for a clean ward is fulfilled.”
ICR DC Talo Potom urged all to “move with the safai abhiyan in its true sense.” He appealed to one and all to take part in the ‘Say no to drugs and Itanagar safai abhiyan’ with the message: ‘I love Arunachal and hope of a saaf Itanagar, sunder Itanagar’.
The Narcotics Control Board’s state nodal officer Oli Koyu said that “social acceptance of a drug addict is the most important thing to help a person recover.”
He also urged all to check illegal cultivation of opium, cannabis, etc, as a social responsibility, and said that community mobilization is the most important tool against drug addiction.
“Drug addiction can be treated,” said state drug de-addiction cell nodal officer Dr Riken Rina, and exhorted parents to “provide care and support to help drug addicts recover from addiction, instead of stigmatizing and leaving them at their own will.”
He also informed that a survey conducted by the department under the social justice & empowerment ministry in 2019 had shown high percentage of use of various substances like heroine, cannabis, opioid, alcohol, sedatives and other drugs in the state.
“It is time we all should make a collaborative effort to stop the menace of drugs, or else we might end up losing a generation to it,” he said.
Dr Rina said that a drug de-addiction centre will come up soon in the ICR.
“Altogether, there are six drug de-addition centres fully functioning in the state,” he informed.
Also, an opioid substitution centre under the National AIDS Control Programme has been started at the Itafort UPHC.
Corporator Yukar Yaro also urged all to actively participate in and continue the abhiyan. She appealed to the mayor and the DC to take steps for erecting a protection wall around Itafort.
In Ward No 7, Deputy Mayor Biri Basang conducted the cleanliness drive. (DIPRO)
