Shillong ,May 9: Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Friday announced that over 100 teachers will be trained to become counsellors within ten months to address the issue of drug menace from student’s life.
Speaking to.repotyers, Lyngdoh said the government through the department of social welfare is going all out in its effort to contain and eventually eradicate drugs and the menace of drug trafficking from the state
DREAM mission has recently collaborated with Sanker Centre for Neurology and Mental Health and we are not going for a course, which Sanker is already running, where teachers will be trained in counselling students, young children from classes II to V, where they will be impressed with the need to stay free from substance abuse.”
He also announced that the state government will bear 50 percent of the course fee, which is at Rs 10,000 and said, “That’s a major initiative that government funding teachers, who will act as a counsellor in addressing – as we can’t have all school children gathered in one place, so we will train teachers who will act as counsellors in the respective schools for which government is funding 50 percent of the course fee.”
Football Club to support cause
The minister informed that another initiative is that one of the major football clubs – the Shillong Lajong FC – has partnered with the department in campaigning against de-stigmatisation and also reaching out to the youth population.
“We are also in constant touch with faith-based institutions, also with the Meghalaya Users Forum. They are in constant touch with our mission director and also community leaders, youth groups, NGOs have been interacting with the mission director on a regular basis, the themes of which include destigmatisation, decriminalisation, legal awareness and youth engagement spaces.”
State-wide survey
Lyngdoh announced that the state government will soon launch a state-wide survey on drug abuse to identify areas based on their vulnerability factor.
Lyngdoh said the survey, which will be a major initiative, will be conducted in collaboration with the United Nations Organization on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).
“This will help us update information and also identify areas based on their vulnerability factor,” he added.
To tackle the problem of drug trafficking in the state, the minister also informed that the government is in the process of procuring two vehicles, which will be tasked with narcotics scanning, one of which is already on its way. “We expect with the constant intervention of the DGP, this should materialise soon,” he said.
He added, “In regards to the Sniffer dogs, I am happy to share with you that they are currently being trained. It will take another six months before completing the training of the sniffer dogs.”
On the joint VDP training and coordination initiative, Lyngdoh said that few dorbar shnongs have already come forward and applied for being recognized as VDPs.
“In Shillong until DREAM came into being, there were only 11 VDPs and now we expect this number to go up at least double the current number as we have been having regular interaction and consultative meetings with the dorbar shnongs.”
“In the Cantonment area, which has always been seen as something which is off the radar beyond the reach of the state government, I am happy to share with you that the CEO of the Cantonment Board is now partnering with the dorbar shnong of areas within the cantonment board. In Jhalupara for instance, a major point where there is also a large concentration of migrant population, CCTVs will be installed.”
Stating that the government is also engaging with faith leaders, Lyngdoh said that the Catholic Diocese has agreed to set up new rehab centres – “one of them which we have initiated and which will take place shortly is the RTCC in Ri Bhoi District”.
The state government will soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kerala Psychiatric Society to address the shortage of trained psychiatrists in the state.
Announcing this on Friday, Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh said the state is faced with the problem of shortage of trained psychiatrists to handle drug addicts in detox centres.
“Therefore, I am happy to share with you that we are shortly coming up with an MoU with the Kerala Psychiatric Society where about 72 psychiatrists have been identified and based on our resource position, we should be able to engage the service of at least a few of these psychiatrists in the first phase and also to upscale our intervention where detox is concerned,” he stated.
