HYDERABAD: Telangana Anti Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) Director Sandeep Shandilya on Tuesday inaugurated an awareness campaign targeting adulterated toddy and narcotic substances across 104 villages in Nizamabad district. The campaign will be conducted over two days by 26 specially formed teams.
Speaking at the inauguration event held at ICCC in Hyderabad, Shandilya said that each of the 26 teams, drawn from various wings of the TGANB will be responsible for four villages. Over the course of the campaign, each team will conduct four awareness programs per day (two in the morning and two in the evening), in coordination with local Primary Health Centre (PHC) doctors, Law & Order police, Excise department officials, Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), village secretaries and other stakeholders.
As part of their engagement efforts, the TGANB teams will also distribute sports kits to local youth to encourage their participation in the anti-drug movement.
“We want to spread the message: Say no to drugs. If Telangana wants to be drug-free, the youth must lead the fight against drugs,” Shandilya emphasised.
The initiative comes in the wake of a serious incident in Kamareddy district on April 8, when 83 individuals were hospitalised after consuming adulterated toddy. Following the incident, TGANB teams, in coordination with local police, conducted raids on toddy shops, registering two cases, arresting eight accused, and seizing 1,087 grams of alprazolam.
Highlighting the severity of the issue, Shandilya revealed that in 2024 alone, TGANB had busted seven factories illegally manufacturing alprazolam.
“We seized property worth Rs 30 crore belonging to a depot owner in Shadnagar. In another case, we are in the process of seizing additional properties linked to illegal toddy operations,” he said.