Tag: drug addiction

  • Drug addiction: Punjab govt to survey 14,000 jail inmates to exact causes

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: For the first time in history, a survey of approximately 14,000 jail inmates willbe carried out across Punjab in order to know the exact causes of drug addiction and to plan effective anti-drug intervention programs. At present around 46 per cent of prisoners in the state are addicted to drugs. Out of 30,000 prisoners, 14,000 tested positive for drugs.

    The survey came as a follow-up to a drug screening project of the jail department. It will start from Monday (September 12) in all the twenty-five jails across the state. 350 volunteers (students of various universities and institutions) have been engaged to complete the purpose within twelve days’ time span.

    Renowned educationists and professors of Punjabi University, ISB Mohali and DAV collage Sector 10 were roped in as research committee members to prepare the questionnaire in collaboration with officers of the Punjab prisons department and Special Task Force on Drugs (STF), along with Dr Ranbir Singh de-addiction expert and co-founder of OOAT program.

    The survey will be in coded format to keep it confidential and the prisoner’s identity will not be revealed. During the interview jail officials will remain at a reasonable distance and permit the interviewee to give their responses without apprehension while keeping observation over them. The jail officers have also been instructed to issue identity cards to interviewers and sensitised to ensure that the interviewers are made secure and comfortable in each jail.

    The identity of the prisoner shall be kept anonymous as each prisoner will be allotted a special code number for this purpose. During the survey, the jail department is making it sure that the identity of the prisoners is not revealed when they are asked the questions and the answers are recorded by the interviewer.

    The questionnaire will contain 85 questions based on factors (both inside and outside prison) which may have a substantial impact on the addiction or de-addiction status of the prisoners. These factors include geographical factors, psycho-social factors, socio-economic factors, policing, prison specific and de-addiction.

    The questionnaire includes questions such as how to improve de-addition services in jails, how can authorities effectively detect drugs in and outside the jails, how they manage to get drugs in the jails and outside, how to improve the peer support system,  how they manage when they are unable to get drugs, how can prevention programs be made more effective and so forth.

    The prisoners will also be asked about how long they have been in jail, how many times they have come to jail and duration, their income level, till which class they have studied, what is their occupation and the list is endless.

    The idea of the survey was put forward by Harpreet Singh Sidhu Special DGP (Prisons) before the Punjab Jail Minister Harjit Singh Bains and the Additional Chief Secretary (Jails) KAP Sinha. It is a joint effort between the jails department and the Special Task Force on drugs (STF) which is also headed by Sidhu.

    Bains addressed the training program held on September 10 to motivate the students and staff. After the completion of the survey inside the prisons, a similar survey would be conducted amongst the general public to get large-scale data in order to formulate a long-term action plan for eradicating the menace of drugs in the whole state, he added.

    CHANDIGARH: For the first time in history, a survey of approximately 14,000 jail inmates will
    be carried out across Punjab in order to know the exact causes of drug addiction and to plan effective anti-drug intervention programs. At present around 46 per cent of prisoners in the state are addicted to drugs. Out of 30,000 prisoners, 14,000 tested positive for drugs.

    The survey came as a follow-up to a drug screening project of the jail department. It will start from Monday (September 12) in all the twenty-five jails across the state. 350 volunteers (students of various universities and institutions) have been engaged to complete the purpose within twelve days’ time span.

    Renowned educationists and professors of Punjabi University, ISB Mohali and DAV collage Sector 10 were roped in as research committee members to prepare the questionnaire in collaboration with officers of the Punjab prisons department and Special Task Force on Drugs (STF), along with Dr Ranbir Singh de-addiction expert and co-founder of OOAT program.

    The survey will be in coded format to keep it confidential and the prisoner’s identity will not be revealed. During the interview jail officials will remain at a reasonable distance and permit the interviewee to give their responses without apprehension while keeping observation over them. The jail officers have also been instructed to issue identity cards to interviewers and sensitised to ensure that the interviewers are made secure and comfortable in each jail.

    The identity of the prisoner shall be kept anonymous as each prisoner will be allotted a special code number for this purpose. During the survey, the jail department is making it sure that the identity of the prisoners is not revealed when they are asked the questions and the answers are recorded by the interviewer.

    The questionnaire will contain 85 questions based on factors (both inside and outside prison) which may have a substantial impact on the addiction or de-addiction status of the prisoners. These factors include geographical factors, psycho-social factors, socio-economic factors, policing, prison specific and de-addiction.

    The questionnaire includes questions such as how to improve de-addition services in jails, how can authorities effectively detect drugs in and outside the jails, how they manage to get drugs in the jails and outside, how to improve the peer support system,  how they manage when they are unable to get drugs, how can prevention programs be made more effective and so forth.

    The prisoners will also be asked about how long they have been in jail, how many times they have come to jail and duration, their income level, till which class they have studied, what is their occupation and the list is endless.

    The idea of the survey was put forward by Harpreet Singh Sidhu Special DGP (Prisons) before the Punjab Jail Minister Harjit Singh Bains and the Additional Chief Secretary (Jails) KAP Sinha. It is a joint effort between the jails department and the Special Task Force on drugs (STF) which is also headed by Sidhu.

    Bains addressed the training program held on September 10 to motivate the students and staff. After the completion of the survey inside the prisons, a similar survey would be conducted amongst the general public to get large-scale data in order to formulate a long-term action plan for eradicating the menace of drugs in the whole state, he added.

  • Yogi govt sets up first Anti-Narcotics Task Force

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: In order to crack down on illicit liquor and drug smugglers in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government has set up an ‘Anti-Narcotics Task Force’ (ANTF) to check drug trafficking.

    ANTF has been constituted following the directives of CM Yogi Adityanath to confiscate the properties of those found involved in illicit liquor and drugs trade and put up their posters at public places, said the official spokesman of state government here on Tuesday.

    The CM issued the orders to authorities concerned to crack a whip on those found involved in the trade of illicit liquor and drugs as it should be seen as a national crime. The CM was reviewing the campaign against illicit liquor and narcotics across the state.

    According to a statement issued by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar, ANTF would be supervised by Additional Director General of Police (Crime).

    As per the UP police statement, in the first phase, Narcotics Police Stations would be established in two districts — Barabanki and Ghazipur. It added that officers from central agencies like Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) would be taken on deputation in ANTF.

    ANTF would be equipped with all the powers related to search, seizure, arrest and investigation against criminals and mafia involved in the drug trade. It would be able to investigate by registering FIR against criminals in any police station within its jurisdiction.

    ANTF would be divided into three zones — Eastern, Western and Central – across the state.

    While Eastern zone  would comprise of Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi divisions, Western would have of Meerut, Bareilly, and Agra divisions and Central zone would have Lucknow and Kanpur division.

    At the Headquarters, the task force would be headed by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police level officer with the support of the Superintendent of Police (Operations) and the Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), the statement said adding that each zone would be headed by a deputy SP level officer.

    DIG Abdul Hamid has been appointed the first officer to head ANTF. In the first phase of the campaign which was launched on Monday, 785 accused were arrested while narcotics worth more than Rs 5.50 crore were seized in raids that were carried out in 342 hookah bars at 4,338 places across the state, the official statement said.

    The drive was launched to save the youth of the state from drug addiction. 

    The task force will also oversee the implementation of treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts, and preventive education and awareness generation programmes of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It will also coordinate with de-addiction centres established by the Union health ministry.

    The ANTF has also been tasked with keeping a vigil on the illegal farming of poppy seed and cracking down on the illegal narcotics trade through the dark web, social media, and  cryptocurrency.

    LUCKNOW: In order to crack down on illicit liquor and drug smugglers in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government has set up an ‘Anti-Narcotics Task Force’ (ANTF) to check drug trafficking.

    ANTF has been constituted following the directives of CM Yogi Adityanath to confiscate the properties of those found involved in illicit liquor and drugs trade and put up their posters at public places, said the official spokesman of state government here on Tuesday.

    The CM issued the orders to authorities concerned to crack a whip on those found involved in the trade of illicit liquor and drugs as it should be seen as a national crime. The CM was reviewing the campaign against illicit liquor and narcotics across the state.

    According to a statement issued by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar, ANTF would be supervised by Additional Director General of Police (Crime).

    As per the UP police statement, in the first phase, Narcotics Police Stations would be established in two districts — Barabanki and Ghazipur. It added that officers from central agencies like Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) would be taken on deputation in ANTF.

    ANTF would be equipped with all the powers related to search, seizure, arrest and investigation against criminals and mafia involved in the drug trade. It would be able to investigate by registering FIR against criminals in any police station within its jurisdiction.

    ANTF would be divided into three zones — Eastern, Western and Central – across the state.

    While Eastern zone  would comprise of Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi divisions, Western would have of Meerut, Bareilly, and Agra divisions and Central zone would have Lucknow and Kanpur division.

    At the Headquarters, the task force would be headed by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police level officer with the support of the Superintendent of Police (Operations) and the Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), the statement said adding that each zone would be headed by a deputy SP level officer.

    DIG Abdul Hamid has been appointed the first officer to head ANTF. In the first phase of the campaign which was launched on Monday, 785 accused were arrested while narcotics worth more than Rs 5.50 crore were seized in raids that were carried out in 342 hookah bars at 4,338 places across the state, the official statement said.

    The drive was launched to save the youth of the state from drug addiction. 

    The task force will also oversee the implementation of treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts, and preventive education and awareness generation programmes of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It will also coordinate with de-addiction centres established by the Union health ministry.

    The ANTF has also been tasked with keeping a vigil on the illegal farming of poppy seed and cracking down on the illegal narcotics trade through the dark web, social media, and  cryptocurrency.