CHANDIGARH: A community led initiative called "Panchgama Vikas Model" has been started to tackle drug abuse and to improve access of rural youth towards education, career guidance and skill training in 300 villages of Haryana's Jind district.
As per the data compiled by the Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes and Antyodaya (SEWA) Department there are a total of 2,42,302 substance-users in the state of these 1,03,959 which comes to around 43 per cent are in the age group of 31 to 45 years and 1,702 are below 18 years of age.
Of the total registrations, 1,53,032 are male and 1,335 female patients while the remaining patients belong to the transgender category and in the transgender category 48 registrations for bhukki, 36 for opium and 15 for heroin. There are 56,363 registrations in the 18 to 30 age group, 53,542 in 46 to 60 years and 26,810 in people of 60 years and above.
As per the data Bhukki accounts for the highest number of substance-use with 68,223 registrations followed by opium (51,317), heroin (30,960), opioid-doda (21,822) and alcohol (20,964). These figures also include 16,629 registrations under any other substance, 14,732 related to tobacco and 11,238 to smack.
If ones goes by the age profile in the 18-30 age group 14,303 and 13,407 in 31 to 45 year category are for heroin users respectively. While for bhuki 27,032 registrations in 31 to 45 year category and 21,161 in the 46 to 60 year age group thus this is the highest. For Opium there is a similar pattern, with 22,604 registrations in the 31 to 45 category followed by 13,088 in the 46 to 60 year age group.
As per the district-wise figures out of a total of 1,54,501 patient registrations across the state, with Sirsa topping the list at 35,992, followed by Kaithal (24,823), Ambala (16,810), Fatehabad (14,529) and Kurukshetra (14,220) and Hansi recorded the lowest number at 103 and Jhajjar and Rewari were 124 and 131 respectively. Interestingly Sirsa in Haryana border with Punjab.
As per the compiled data the outpatient and inpatient figures show that most registrations in the district-wise table fall under outpatient care. Of the total, 1,47,947 are listed as OPD patients and 6,554 as IPD patients.
While clarifying the disparity between district-wise patient registrations and substance-use figures, an official explained that many patients use more than one substance.
"While each patient is registered only once, but they are counted under every substance category they use which explains the difference in the total number of patient registrations and the substance-wise figures, resulting in higher overall tally," he added.
Haryana Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes and Antyodaya Minister Krishan Bedi said that the state government is aware of the growing drug problem in the state, and their biggest threat comes from neighboring Punjab, which shares a border with several of their districts thus drugs have got a stronger presence in these areas.
He added that Now special teams have been set-up in these districts and programmes are being held through government departments and social organisations to create awareness while focusing on opening rehabilitation centres in these areas.
A community-led initiative to tackle drug abuse and improve access of rural youth towards education, career guidance and skill training was launched in 300 villages of Jind district yesterday by Haryana Professional Forum and Jind Social Fourm a group of volunteers hailing from the state under the "Panchgama Vikas Model" which has been conceived by Director General of Police of Chandigarh Police Dr Sagar Preet Hooda.
Addressing the gathering at the Chaudhary Ranbir Singh University in Jind on the occasion of the launch ceremony, Hooda emphasizing that the initiative would rely on voluntary contributions of time, money and skills rather than financial incentives said that under this the model, 300 villages have been divided into 60 clusters of five villages each and every cluster has a designated lead and a five-member team responsible for identifying local needs, engaging residents and guiding young people towards educational and career opportunities.
"The initiative would rely on voluntary contributions of time, money and skills rather than financial incentives and also money or jobs will not be offered as people will only be guided towards opportunities and given time," he said and added that this model could be extended to other parts of Haryana once it is successful in Jind.
Hooda added that libraries across the 300 villages could help an expert reach 6,000 children in a single session, with 20 students participating from each village.
As there are plans to establish smart libraries by upgrading existing government libraries and encouraging communities to set up new ones which are equipped with books, computers and internet connectivity, these libraries will serve as centres for career guidance and lectures by experts.
The teams would approach individuals and institutions willing to donate books and computers and connect them directly with villages that need these resources.
This programme will focus on bridging the information gap among rural youth about career options, entrance examinations, educational institutions and skill training and it will also promote sports, fitness and mentorship, besides seeking to address drug abuse and the growing trend of young people taking the illegal ‘dunki’ route to migrate abroad.
Drug abuse remains a major concern in Haryana as in many villages the locals have resorted to community vigils (thikri pehras) to catch suspected drug users and peddlers.