A meeting of the district level committee of the Narco Coordination Centre was held at the Collectorate on Wednesday under the chairmanship of District Collector Jitendra Kumar Soni.
District Collector Jitendra said that substance abuse not only affects the addict but also causes havoc to his entire family. He directed to take strict action on the illegal production, storage and transportation of drugs so that the youth can be saved from drug addiction. He also directed to take action against the drug de-addiction centres running illegally in Jaipur district. Apart from this, he directed the education and medical departments to take strict action under the COTPA Act on narcotic substances like gutka, bidi, cigarette sold within 100 yards of schools. District Collector Jitendra directed the officials of the Medical Department to take effective action on the sale of banned medicines at medical stores near schools and colleges and sale of medicine beyond the prescribed limit.
District Superintendent of Police (Rural) Anand Sharma said the COTPA Act, 2003, was enacted to control the sale of cigarettes and tobacco-related products. The Act prohibits smoking, selling tobacco, and advertising related to tobacco in public places. Breaches can result in fines and jail time. He said that sale of tobacco and narcotic substances to children below 18 years of age is prohibited. Along with this, he said that the police department is running a special awareness campaign ‘Operation’ Knock Out ‘to keep the students of schools and colleges away from drugs.
District Collector Jitendra sought the cooperation of the youth to make the campaign a success.
The meeting was attended by district level officers of police, health, education, social justice and empowerment departments among others.