NEW DELHI: The Centre’s Naya Bharat, Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign has reached more than 34.54 crore people across the country as part of its drive to build a drug-free India, a top official said on Monday.
Sudhansh Pant, Secretary in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, said the nationwide campaign has engaged over 13.70 crore youth and 10.64 crore women.
He said more than 1.67 lakh Nasha Mukti Mitras have joined the campaign to strengthen community participation, while over 31.40 lakh awareness and outreach programmes have been conducted across the country.
Pant said the government has expanded access to treatment by establishing more than 755 new de-addiction facilities over the past two years. These include District De-addiction Centres, Addiction Treatment Facilities and de-addiction centres in jails.
He said the ministry has strengthened the campaign through training, expansion of treatment facilities and nationwide public participation.
Pant said more than 1.67 lakh master volunteers, community leaders and personnel have been trained in identifying substance abuse and providing caregiving support.
He said the campaign, launched on August 15, 2020, completed six years with extensive public participation.
Pant said more than 34 lakh Nasha Mukti pledges, including e-pledges, have been taken across the country.
“The pledge aims to encourage responsible behaviour to instil a sense of responsibility among people to stay away from drugs, to promote and foster a sense of unity and commitment for encouraging stakeholders to work together towards a common goal. The pledge further seeks to empower youth to contribute actively to developing a drug-free society,” Pant said.
He expressed confidence that the ministry would achieve its target of mobilising over 10 crore citizens through physical and online participation for a national mass pledge against drug abuse.
“It will be a game changer in sensitizing the citizens about the importance of NMBA across the country,” he added.
Pant said the next national-level mass pledge will be held later this month to mark the sixth anniversary of the campaign.
The ministry has also launched the NMBA 2.0 mobile application to help citizens locate the nearest de-addiction centre.
