Delhi minister underlines need to closely monitor cases of drug abuse

Delhi Women and Child Development Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Friday stressed on the need to closely monitor the cases of drug abuse in the national capital and said it can be done only when all institutions work together. He also said that there is a need to look into the underpinning causes of drug abuse among children and young adults which can be done by professional counsellors in drug rehabilitation centres.

Gautam was addressing a video conference organised by the Department of WCD on the theme "The COVID-19 Pandemic: unique challenges for the management of substance use disorders'' on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Several institutions and stakeholders participated in the video conference. “One of the serious issues that plagues our society is the problem of drug abuse, especially in children and young adults. At a very early age, they become addicts as they have easy access to drugs and narcotic substances,” he said.

"From the point of view of crime, this is indeed a serious issue - who is supplying? Is there a drug racket? But what is more important is to look into the underlying causes such as why is the demand for drugs rising? Why are young adults getting trapped in drug abuse at such a young age? How can we provide better counselling to these people and successfully rehabilitate them?” he said.

The minister urged all departments, institutions and stakeholders to work in close coordination with each other in order to solve the problem of drug abuse in the city. Gautam also suggested drug rehabilitation centres to actively conduct surveys to find out how many people were successfully rehabilitated in their centres. "This should be measured qualitatively i.e if there was any relapse as soon as the person was discharged from the rehabilitation centre. This can help in measuring the effectiveness of the counselling and care provided to the person in the rehabilitation centres," he said.

SB Shashank, Director of Prohibition, mentioned the TV serial ‘Andhi Galiyan’, which was telecast on Doordarshan in 1985 and depicted drug addiction. "Similar kind of awareness and sensitisation is needed in today's time for broadcast and electronic media," he stressed. 

(Image credits: PTI)