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Chief Minister Manik Saha on Thursday said Tripura has achieved a significant milestone in its fight against drug smuggling, with the arrest of 1,052 individuals in 633 cases last year.
The figures mark a substantial increase in drug seizures and arrests from the previous two years, the CM added. Saha shared this information in response to CPIM MLA Jitendra Chaudhury's call for attention during Thursday's Assembly session. The chief minister stated further that the state government has persistently pursued the anti-drug campaign on a large scale. "The government has taken this step, especially considering the harmful effects on students and youth due to the widespread use of various drugs in the state. As a result of these operations, substantial quantities of illegal drugs, including cannabis, cough syrup, narcotic tablets, and heroin, have been seized from various parts of the state. Individuals involved in drug-related activities, accomplices, and dealers have been arrested," CM Saha said. Saha also underlined the success of Tripura Police's anti-narcotics campaign over the last three years in the Assembly. In 2021, the police arrested 501 people in 352 cases, confiscating approximately 41,565 kg of ganja, 2.6 lakh bottles of cough syrups, 14.19 lakh tablets, and 3,850 grams of heroin. Additionally, 62.20 lakh cannabis plants were destroyed. In 2022, 759 people were arrested in 562 cases, resulting in the confiscation of 79,377 kg of ganja, 1.73 lakh bottles of cough syrups, 2.2 lakh tablets, and 7,075 grams of heroin. During this period, 42 lakh, 38 thousand, and 918 cannabis plants were destroyed. In 2023, 1052 people were arrested in 633 recorded cases, the CM noted, adding that "46,631 kg of ganja, 3,08,582 bottles of cough syrup, 4.44 lakh tablets, and 18,844 grams of heroin were seized. During this period, 68,73,935 cannabis plants were destroyed". Further, Saha mentioned that, in line with the directives of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, various state departments, including the Department of Social Welfare and Social Education, the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Narcotics Control Bureau, and various NGOs, have collaborated to set up state and district-level Nasha Mukt Bharat Campaign Committees. These committees aim to assess addiction situations and devise prevention plans, he informed. "The Tripura State AIDS Control Society has initiated Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) Centres in areas like Kumarghat, Kailashahar, Damachara, Ambassa, Jirania, and Jampui. A recent addition is a centre in Bhati Abhaynagar. Furthermore, the State Health Department inaugurated a dedicated OPD-based addiction clinic named Drug Treatment Clinic (DTC) in August 2019 at Modern Mental Hospital, Narsinghgarh, with financial support from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and AIIMS, Delhi," the CM added. He added that an Addiction Treatment Facility (ATF) has been introduced in the De-Addiction Centre at Government Modern Psychiatry Hospital and proposals to extend this facility to other districts of the state are currently being implemented. (ANI)
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