Fight against narcotics addiction launched

BY SACHIN POKHREL,Itahari, Mar. 14:The ‘Fan Fight against Narcotics’ campaign has begun in Koshi Province with the slogan ‘The War against Addiction’ to control the growing problem of drug addiction. 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Koshi Province and Koshi Province Police Office jointly organised a campaign by conducting a morning rally in Itahari on Wednesday. Chief Minister of Koshi Province, Hikmat Kumar Karki, inaugurated the campaign. 

The campaign is being rolled out across all 14 districts of the province with the aim of establishing fan clubs at the school level to raise awareness among children, families and communities.

Chief Minister Karki expressed concern about the increasing prevalence of drug addiction in society. He emphasised the importance of a collective effort in this grand campaign, which will involve the government, security agencies, social organisations and all concerned parties. He expressed confidence that the initiative would play a crucial role in creating a drug-free society by raising awareness and fostering significant changes to address the problem of addiction.

Chief Minister Karki also expressed concern that drug addiction, which was previously prevalent in cities like Dharan, Pokhara and Kathmandu, is now spreading to all 22 districts of the Tarai region and slowly moving towards the hilly and mountainous areas. He stated, "This is not a good sign for the country and society."

He urged everyone to unite in preventing drug addiction and assured that the provincial government is ready to provide full support for this cause. 

Minister of Internal Affairs and Law of Koshi Province, Revati Raman Bhandari, said that the programme has been carried forward to educate all schools and communities through fan clubs as part of the campaign to save society and the nation from the severe situation of drug addiction. He also urged all concerned parties to support the campaign.

The anti-drug campaign, which was started by the District Police Office of Sunsari six years ago, has now been expanded across Koshi Province as of Wednesday. Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajan Adhikari, current Police Chief of Koshi Province Police Office in Biratnagar, who initially conceived and initiated the campaign while serving as the Police Chief of Sunsari, has made it a province-wide initiative since taking over the provincial police leadership. 

He said that the campaign has been integrated under the community-police partnership programme and has been included in the annual action plan of the provincial government and local bodies.