NEW JENGTHU, 31 Mar: Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein visited a ‘special drug de-addiction camp’ underway at the government upper primary school here in Namsai district since 17 March.
Thirty-eight drug addicts are undergoing de-addiction treatment in the camp.
Mein exhorted the recovering addicts to quit their bad habits and return to the mainstream of life and become better human beings. He also exhorted students who are addicted to drugs to “not waste their prime time by indulging in such harmful activities but to concentrate on their studies.”
The DCM informed them about “the seriousness of the government on the issue of drug menace.” He said that the state government has adopted the Arunachal Pradesh Policy on Psychoactive Substance, 2021, to deal with the drug menace.
“The state government will establish state-of-the-art treatment and rehabilitation centres in Namsai, Itanagar and Bomdila,” he said.
Mein further informed that the government has increased the allocation under the Chief Minister Nasha Mukti Abhiyan from Rs 4 crores to Rs 15 crores.
He lauded the Lotong Adi Banggo Kebang (LABK) for organising the three-month special drug de-addiction camp, and called upon all sections of the society to “extend all their support and cooperation for such good causes.”
Namsai MLA Chau Zingnu Namchoom suggested “strengthening the gaon burah institution and working with coordinated efforts to check drug trafficking from village to village.”
Deputy Commissioner RK Sharma informed that about 121 addicted persons have been identified in the district. He said that “more de-addiction camps need to be held in other places of the district to cover all of them.”
ABK Namsai president Bolen Ratan, general secretary Birku Dai, LABK president Lakar Paleng and Namsai GB Ratna Taduk also spoke.
Mein also provided financial assistance out of pocket for the special drug de-addiction camp. (DCM’s PR Cell)