KOCHI:In a bid to tackle the growing drug menace and rehabilitate addicts in an effective manner, the Excise Department will set up narcotic de-addiction centres in all districts, said Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh.
“The de-addiction centres, first of its kind in the state, will be set up with the assistance of the Health Department within three months. A minimum of 10 beds will be provided at every centre. The department has earmarked a sum of `6 crore from the `20 crore Vimukti fund with the Excise. The department will provide the salaries for the staff using this fund,” he said on Monday.
Right now, three rehabilitation centres are functioning in the government sector for liquor addicts. “There are no centres for narcotic addicts. The Excise Department has taken the initiative to open the de-addiction centres in the backdrop of the rise in narcotic cases,” he said.Admission will be open to all and the police and other agencies can refer addicts in their custody for rehabilitation at these de-addiction centres.
He claimed that Excise sleuths had confiscated drugs worth `304 last year. “This year, we have seized drugs worth more than `100 crore. Of this, drugs worth `60 crore were recovered from Ernakulam,” he said.
He revealed that more and more people prefer drugs to drinks and the consumption of liquor is coming down in the state. “As many as 50,000 cases were registered by the Excise last year and the department seized around 1,000 tonnes of banned tobacco products,” he said.
The Excise Department will continue to crack down on Facebook and WhatsApp groups that promote the consumption of liquor and drug abuse, he said. Responding to a query whether the Excise have come across a WhatsApp group called Ganja Boys, he said the department will take action to shut down such groups.
“Recently we had communicated with Facebook about GNPC, a Facebook collective allegedly sharing alcohol-related content. As Facebook required a few more details to close down the page, we have collected it,” he said. “The Excise have completed all proceedings and police have registered a case,” he said.