Union Health Minister, JP Nadda on Thursday said that some 7.3 crore people in India were used to abuse of drugs and as many as 70 per cent have become heavy addicts, which was rather an alarming proportion.
While addressing judicial conference on ‘Drug Menace in India, overview, challenges and solutions’ organised by HP State legal Services Authority at Manali, the Union Minister stressed for incorporating the drugs affects in school syllabus to create awareness amongst the students so that they could be sensitised at very young stage.
He said that the Union Government was serious in adding a chapter in school syllabus soon to catch the youth young and sensitise them about the ill-effects of the drugs abuse.
Drugs menace was a serious problem for the country and especially the youth were falling easy prey to it, creating serious challenge to the government and the intelligence and security agency, said he.
Nadda said that the victims and criminals involved in NDPS cases encompass the entire range of social strata in our country. From the rich and famous to the poor are found to be involved in and affected by the drug menace. The number of those between age group of around 18 was predominantly high and the problem has to be redressed by adopting measures as counselling and creating awareness, said he.
“We need a co-ordinating holistic approach with the support of the society to root out the drug abuse from the society to a large extent”, said Nadda.
Nadda said that capacity building of society and community based intervention was need of the hour to counter the ill effects and dangers of drug abuse.
The Union Government had sanctioned Rs 150 crore for mental illness programmes and the NDA Government was considering to start advance courses in all state and district hospitals for the very purpose. Our security agencies alone and stringent laws cant reduce the gravity of drug marketing and
smuggling in isolation, said
Nadda, adding that with concerted efforts of the society and awareness programmes, we can contain drug business to a larger extent.