UT starts campaign to fight drug menace

Chandigarh, Sep 1 (UNI) The Chandigarh Administration has started a campaign with the help of various departments to fight the drug menace among adolescents and youth.

The main thrust of the campaign is to educate the addicts, bring them to the counseling centres and to pursue them for treatment at the hospitals.

The Administration has made Department of Social Welfare as the the nodal agency for identifying the NGOs and social workers for providing counseling to the drug-addicts in all the dispensaries and public health centres (PHCs) in collaboration with Health Department.

Department of Social Welfare has also identified 22 counselors who have been imparted necessary training by the experts of Psychiatry Department of GMCH-32 enabling them to provide quality services to the target group.

GMCH-32 has earmarked 10 beds in the existing building whereas GMSH 16 would be setting up de-addiction centre with capacity of 15 beds besides two private rooms for the cause.

The field staff of the ICDS project Chandigarh has also been engaged for identifying of the drug addicts in their respective areas, so that maximum number of addicts could be treated under this programme.

UNI PS BK1558