With the ongoing tussle between Bollywood stars and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the issue of drugs and its production has become a matter of national concern. As steps are being taken all over the country to control its usage, the police department of Korea district in Chhattisgarh started a campaign on the same lines called Nijaat. The initiative that was launched three months ago has started yielding positive results.
While speaking to Indian Masterminds, Superintendent of Police, Korea district, Mr. Santosh Kumar Singh said, “The initiative has been launched to liberate the district from drugs, narcotics and illegal liquor. For this, we have started a three-step strategy which includes strict action from the police, mass awareness drive, and de-addiction campaign.”
NO TOLERANCE POLICY
To curb the usage of such intoxicants in this border district, the police department is taking quick actions in a mission mode. Since the initiative was started in July, 118 arrests have been made in 94 cases of drugs while 355 arrests have been made in 349 cases of illegal sale of liquor. Mr. Santosh Singh said, “It’s a huge success for the police department, as around 500 people have been caught in intoxicant substances involvement in the district. Some of the people got bail but around 50 per cent of the total people who were caught are still behind bars.”
ROPING BOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES FOR AWARENESS
To fight the drug menace, the police department of Korea is focusing on running mass awareness drives in the district. And with the continuous support of people, the department has managed to conduct 152 public awareness programs where counseling of hundreds of drug addicts was done.
Mr. Santosh said, “We have roped in people’s representatives, social organizations, community organizations and student’s groups to conduct such programs in the district.”
In support of this campaign, the department roped in many celebrities from Bollywood. These celebrities have appealed to live a better life by staying away from drugs and narcotics in a video which was released by the Korea police department on Twitter. The short video features famous singer Kailash Kher, actor Bhagwan Tiwari and comedian Sunil Grover. Actor and producer Arbaaz Khan, comedian Rajpal Yadav and artist Virendra Saxena also feature in a video with a similar message for the people. Many supporting videos and rap songs have also been produced by local artists of the district.
Mr. Singh said, “With the support of the locals and other public figures, we are vigorously and aggressively spreading the message to stop consuming drugs. We have also roped in important figures from the state and are trying to spread awareness through them.”
DE-ADDICTION CAMPAIGN
By following the first two steps, which is strict action and mass awareness drive, the police force is now helping the highly addicted people by conducting a rehabilitation program for them. Under the first phase, the police identified the people who consumed high number of drugs and counselled them. However, now they have hired professionals to counsel these people at the rehabilitation centres.
According to Mr. Santosh, the campaign has been successful as the police arrested a good number of people in a very short span of time and the work is being recognized and appreciated by the state government. He is confident that these measures will help in controlling crimes in the district as well, as some percentage of crime is committed due to the involvement of drugs.
