Mehbooba for multi-pronged strategy to eradicate drug menace

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has asked law enforcing agencies to work on a multi-pronged strategy to eradicate the menace of drug abuse.
She also asked the officers to take the fight against land encroachments in the state on mission mode.
The chief minister asked deputy commissioners (DCs) and superintendents of police (SPs) of Jammu division to work on a multi-pronged strategy to eradicate the drug menace as it "threatens the very survival of our future generation".
She was speaking at a meeting with DCs and SPs to review progress of development projects and the overall law and order scenario in the Jammu division.

Mufti said while it was all important to go after drug peddlers with all seriousness and firmness, it was equally important to undertake awareness campaigns, particularly among students, about ill-effects and dangers of drug addiction.
She also suggested undertaking counseling programmes for youths addicted to drugs and their parents and called for setting up of more de-addiction centres.

The chief minister was informed that police have launched a massive campaign against drug abuse and the numbers of cases and arrests have gone up as compared to previous years.
She was also informed that confiscation of cannabis, brown sugar and opium have gone up in the state.

The chief minister impressed upon the DCs to monitor all development activities in their respective districts.
"Every development work in your district is your responsibility and chase it till it gets completed," she said.
Mehbooba rued that much of the working season in the state, particularly in Kashmir division, has been lost and progress on works slowed down due to the ongoing unrest.
The chief minister sought detailed information from the DCs regarding availability of ration, power and water supply, healthcare facilities and all other issues concerning masses.
She also enquired about the implementation of the National Food Security Act and the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme in the districts.

She directed the DCs to ensure that the retrieved state land remains safe for which she asked them to undertake fencing in convergence with MNREGA.
The chief minister also directed the Deputy Commissioners of Jammu division to ensure thatthe poor nomadic communities living in forest areas for decades are not harassed and dislocated during anti-encroachment drive.
She said the authorities should go after big land-grabbers who have encroached huge chunks at prime places, but the poor and hapless nomads who have been protecting the forests for decades should not be harassed.
Mehbooba also enquired about the status of cases of crimes against women in the districts.

She was informed that three women's police stations have been working in the province and two more women's police stations have been sanctioned.