Chandigarh, June 25: On the occasion of ‘International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’, Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal has urged every section of the society, especially the youth to join hands together and pledge to provide valuable contribution to completely eradicate the menace of drugs and empower the society.

In a message issued here today, the Chief Minister said that the State Government while giving special emphasis on adopting zero-tolerance towards drug abuse has taken several steps forwards eliminating this problem from the State. He said that as drug abuse is more of a social issue, therefore, it can be effectively tackled with the involvement of society and increased social awareness.

It may be recalled that on the initiative of Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal the first Regional Conference of Chief Ministers on the issue of Drug Menace, Challenges and Strategies was organized on August 20, 2018. The Chief Minister in the second Regional Conference on Drug Menace Challenges and Strategies had suggested adopting a three-pronged strategy-- Treatment, Enforcement and Awareness (TEA) for the effective control of drug menace and illegal trafficking in the northern states. Similarly, the ‘Run against drugs’ programme was organized in Sisra which marked record participation from all across the State.

Meanwhile, on the initiative of the Chief Minister a Common Secretariat has been opened at Panchkula (Haryana) and an ADGP rank officer has been made its nodal officer. Telephone numbers, toll-free numbers, and control room numbers of all the nodal officers from each State are available in this centralized Secretariat. Besides this, information about the action taken against those caught in drug smuggling is also being uploaded on the website.