The first modern 30-bed rehabilitation and mental health centre dedicated to minors struggling with drug addiction has started operating in Dehradun. District Magistrate Savin Bansal announced the initiative during a district-level Narcotics Coordination Committee meeting held at Rishiparna Auditorium on Thursday. The centre has been set up at the Raiwala Old Age Home facility and currently houses four recovering patients.
DM Bansal expressed concern over rising drug use among teenagers and directed the Social Welfare Department to prepare operational guidelines at the earliest. He said the goal is to bring affected children back into mainstream society and secure their future. The district administration has also signed an MoU with AIIMS, reserving 10 intensive therapy beds and providing medical support seven days a week.
To curb illegal drug trafficking, Bansal reviewed departmental actions taken so far and instructed strict inspections of medical stores and pharmaceutical factories. He ordered mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in all medical shops within ten days, warning that licences will be cancelled if shops fail to comply. He also directed that extensive drug testing be conducted in higher educational institutions across the district.
The district administration has launched an anti-drug helpline number, 9625777399, and promoted the central helpline 1933 for reporting illegal drug activity. Bansal asked schools and colleges to activate anti-drug committees by including one male and one female student representative, install CCTV in vulnerable locations, and widely display posters with helpline details.
Police and enforcement agencies, including ANTF, STF, NCB and drug control authorities, were instructed to coordinate actions to break demand and supply chains. Officials noted recent complaints from 19 locations in Dehradun, resulting in 12 registered cases. Awareness campaigns were held at Graphic Era, Uttaranchal University and Unison College, where 17 students underwent drug testing.
The meeting was attended by SDM Sadar Harigiri, CO Police Ankit Kandari, ACF Anil Singh Rawat, District Excise Officer VK Joshi, ACMO Dr. Dinesh Chauhan, Social Welfare Officer Deepankar Ghildiyal, Drugs Inspector Vinod Jagudi, District Education Officer Prem Lal Bharti, Supriya Sharma from Aasra Trust, DDAC director Vaishali Devnath, committee members and SDMs from various tehsils via virtual mode.
