Anti-Chitta Gram Sabhas would be organised in all Gram Panchayats of Himachal Pradesh on January 21 and 22. Presiding over a meeting of senior officers held last evening, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said these ‘sabhas’ would review information related to ‘chitta’ and focus on important issues, including the rehabilitation of local youth addicted to heroin.
Officers from various departments would also attend these Gram Sabhas as observers. Each Panchayat would also carry out a detailed mapping of chitta-related activities during the meetings.
The Chief Minister said that statewide awareness campaigns were already underway to educate people about the harmful effects of ‘chitta’ and other psychotropic drugs. As part of this effort, Anti-Chitta Awareness Sports Tournaments would also be organised across the state on the lines of the Premier League. He said that these tournaments would feature kabaddi, cricket, and volleyball matches and would be held at the block, district, and state levels. Winning teams would receive cash prizes from the Chief Minister.
He said that the government was following a multi-pronged strategy to break the chain of ‘chitta’ trafficking and its supply. The properties owned by ‘chitta’ smugglers have been identified and will be demolished.
CM also directed the Education Department to include a chapter on the harmful effects of ‘chitta’ in school textbooks to raise awareness among students. He directed to include Gram Panchayat Pradhans and Panchayat Samiti members as special invitees in Panchayat-level drug de-addiction committees. In addition, Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPOs) and women’s self-help groups (Mahila Mandals) would be actively involved in the campaign against chitta.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister Ram Subhag Singh, Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary K.K. Pant, Secretary to the Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, Secretary C. Paulrasu, Advocate General Anoop Rattan, Director Rural Development Raghav Sharma, and other senior officers were also present in the meeting.
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