https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

An Officer’s Effort to Chain ‘Udta Haryana’

IPS officer Rakesh Kumar Arya has zeroed in on 25 villages in Haryana to make them drugs and violence free. It is a plan wherein multiple agencies are involved, along with NGOs and volunteers who wish to help in this initiative. Once all the drugs-affected people of a village are rehabilitated, that village will be declared drugs free.
Indian Masterminds Stories

Drugs and violence have become all too common amongst the youth of some villages in rural Haryana. Since the state shares a long border with Punjab, it has been long used as a transit route to smuggle drugs and that’s how the young people got introduced and hooked onto narcotic substances. 

Noting the spread of drugs in the state, especially in the rural areas, the IGP of Hisar range, Rakesh Kumar Arya, selected 25 villages under his jurisdiction to make them completely drugs and violence-free. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, the officer shared his plan in detail.

THE IDEA

The IPS officer got the idea for the initiative when he was once analyzing and discussing police’s achievement under ‘detection work’ with his fellow officials, wherein they discussed arrest and recovery data from previous years and examined their work. That’s when he realized that the police’s achievements did not actually match the actual impact that they had on the ground. There was a wide gap between the two.

“We were under the impression that we were doing a good job but the demand and prevalence of drugs in society and deaths caused by it were increasing over the years. We decided to target the demand side of drugs instead of targeting the suppliers. In the name of peer pressure and youth’s itch to explore, the penetration of drugs is increasing day by day, especially in villages,” he told Indian Masterminds.

The officer decided to pick villages where the youth’s demand for drugs was high. He collected the data by analyzing villages where the number of drug-related deaths, drug-related arrests, and leads regarding the sale of drugs was high.

INVOLVING THE TEAM

Mr. Arya arranged a meeting with Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of the division and discussed ideas. They came to a conclusion that they should redirect the youth towards proper jobs, sports, yoga, professional education, etc.

“We decided to educate them about government schemes and the opportunities that government provides for their employment. If they were positively busy and had something to look forward to in life, it will engage them in a good way, rather than deteriorating in bad company,” stated Mr. Arya.

The team agreed and not just the police, but the department of sports, health, and education came together to make a concrete plan and strategize to target villages and youth and rehabilitate them.

REHABILITATION OF THE YOUTH

The officer and his team made the youngsters who were on the verge of becoming addicts aware of the negative consequences of drugs and helped them come out of it. The ones who were already deep into drugs were given medical help and were taken to rehab centers to help them get out of the addiction.

“We also sensitized the villagers and their families to not treat them as outcasts. We made them understand that they are young people who need our help and love, and they shouldn’t be boycotted,” he said.

FIRST MEETING

On 24th December 2021, Mr. Arya and his team held their first meeting in one of the villages in Fatehabad, Haryana. The two-hour meeting received a great response from the villagers, including panchayats, sarpanches, and schoolchildren.

“They have promised us that the entire village will not help, support or come to bail someone who is a drugs supplier. They are also fed up with the drugs menace and want their village to be drugs and violence-free.”

CHALLENGES BEFORE HIM

The officer is facing a few challenges while initiating the program, such as the lack of appropriate rehabilitation centers. The victims need to be watched once they are out of the de-addiction centers to prevent them from falling back into the drug trap. 

“There is just one government facility in terms of de-addiction and very few and underdeveloped private facilities, so we are working on this aspect,” stated the officer.

Mr. Arya plans to honor the people who have fought their addiction, and once all the drugs-affected people of a village are rehabilitated, that particular village will be declared as drugs and violence-free.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
BEL PSU
Bharat Electronics (BEL) & VVDN Technologies Forge Strategic Alliance for Indigenous Devt of Wi-Fi and 5G Networking Systems
Dr Mohan Yadav
Rani Durgavati's Legacy to Inspire Generations: MP CM Dr Mohan Yadav Announces Zoo and Rescue Centre in Her Name
GAIL Awards
ICAI Recognizes: GAIL’s Executive Director S.K. Sinha Receives Prestigious Certificate from ICAI for Excellence in Cost Management
GRSE
GRSE Honoured with Prestigious National Award for Excellence in Cost Management by ICMAI, Ex-CFO Named Best CMA Achiever
Mohan Yadav MP CM MP
Prime Minister Modi Elevates India’s Global Standing, Govt Acts as Shield for Citizens: Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav
Shipping-Corporation-of-India-SCI
SCI Leadership Update: Rear Admiral Jaswinder Singh Given Additional Charge as Director (BC&T), Shipping Corporation of India - Know More!
Punjab-Police-Logo
Punjab: Five 2011-Batch IPS Officers Promoted to DIG Rank; One Case Under Sealed Cover
GAIL_Wins_Double_Honors_at_National_Awards_2025
Dual Honours for GAIL: Pata Plant and City Gas Business Win at 19th National Cost Management Awards 2025 - Details Inside
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Former Diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar
Iran Is Weakest Now, Needs a Face-Saver
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-23 at 12.39
Retired Officers Lead 7-Day Mission to Revive Betwa River with 55 Check Dams | Video Interview
Inderjit Singh Interview Plane Crash
What ill-fated pilots of AI171 may have gone through in those 40 seconds before the crash? Intro:
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Sanish Kumar Singh
“If you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way,” Sanish Kumar Singh AIR 8, UPSC IFS 2024 
The real interview, he says, was much more humane. “The board was conversational. The chairman opened...
Raju Wagh
When the Battlefield Became a Study Room and a Dream Took Flight
Amid IED blasts and anti-Maoist operations in Bastar, CRPF Commando Raju Wagh taught village kids, studied...
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-18 at 10.31
"I Just Wanted to Breathe Again": The Man Who Fought Death and Made It to UPSC
Struck by COVID at the peak of his UPSC prep, Devanand Telgote spent months on ECMO, unsure he'd live,...
Social Media
Tigress Arrowhead
The End of an Era: A Queen Falls - Ranthambore’s Iconic Tigress Arrowhead (T-84) Passes Away at 14, Hours After Daughter’s Relocation
Ranthambore mourns the loss of one of its fiercest and most beloved tigers, Arrowhead, the granddaughter...
Screenshot 2025-06-13 194001
Wild Elephant Disrupts Riverside Picnic, Sparks Debate on Human Encroachment; IFS Parveen Kumar Shares the Video - Watch Here!
Mr. Kaswan used the viral video, which has garnered over 1.5 lakh views, to highlight the risks of human...
Tiger jump Sundarban
Stunning Viral Video Shows Royal Bengal Tiger Making Spectacular 30-Foot Leap Across River in Sunderbans - See It Here
Retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda shared the clip online, which quickly went...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
BEL PSU
Bharat Electronics (BEL) & VVDN Technologies Forge Strategic Alliance for Indigenous Devt of Wi-Fi and 5G Networking Systems
Dr Mohan Yadav
Rani Durgavati's Legacy to Inspire Generations: MP CM Dr Mohan Yadav Announces Zoo and Rescue Centre in Her Name
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Former Diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-23 at 12.39
Inderjit Singh Interview Plane Crash
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT