SHILLONG, JUNE 15: The state government has decided to involve the religious organizations as part of its fight against the problem of drug menace in the state.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened by the Minister in-charge Social Welfare Paul Lyngdoh with leaders of the different religious organizations at the Secretariat here on Thursday.
Addressing the media, Lyngdoh said important suggestions have emerged from the meeting where the discussion was confined to the need to up the ante against the narcotic situation.
Suggestions were also made on the need to increase the intensity of counselling, awareness programmes and destigmatization of the drug users.
“As a result of the discussions, we agreed on a two-pronged approach. The first is to involve the various faith organizations in coming forward and joining the campaign against drug abuse,” he told reporters.
The minister said at this stage, the government has earmarked an amount of Rs 10 crore per annum, which will workout at Rs 2.50 crore in five years for the implementation of the elimination of drug and substance use.
Lyngdoh also informed that the faith organizations have been requested to go back and have their inhouse consultations and said, “We will then, based on their requirements, fund the publicity campaign.”
“Also I had suggested that since a lot of schools also come under these organizations, students can be asked to take a pledge on a daily basis to not abuse himself or engage in activities that lead to narcotic addiction,” he added.
Further, the minister said that the government has also decided to intensify the anti-drug campaign in the seven districts identified as ‘drug hotspots’ and other districts of the state.
“As a pilot project, we will start first with Shillong since it is a major hotspot. We will zone Shillong into various zones and each of these zones. There will be regular interactions and review of the extent of the problem, identification of users, identification of peddlers and coordination with all line departments, the dorbar shnongs and the social welfare department and health department,” he said.
Lyngdoh said that the faith leaders will be meeting on June 19 and post that they will come back to the government with their proposals.
He also assured that the department will also widen the scope of the third meeting by also inviting dorbar shnongs and NGOs to discuss the issue.
When asked, the minister said, “As I said, we have identified hotspot districts. We will concentrate on those but at the same we will be allocating funds to all the districts and NGOs, faith organizations and other such entities with credible credentials can also come forward but at this stage we first approach faith organizations because they have the infrastructure, they have the churches, they have the schools so based on that consideration, we have asked them to come up with proposals so that the pilot projects can take off immediately.”
Stating that religious organizations play a very big role in the state of Meghalaya, Lyngdoh said, “If we start preaching openly about drug addiction and how parents and how as responsible citizens we should begin from home to curb and eliminate drug abuse. They are a very significant player in moulding the future of Meghalaya.”
On the need to set up more rehabilitation centres, the minister said that the social welfare department is funding and supporting 11 de addiction centres adding that setting up of another four new centres have also been proposed.
“Everybody including church organizations are also invited to come up with proposals and whatever support they require from the government we will be there to support,” he added.
By Our Reporter
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