{"id":94561,"date":"2026-04-01T00:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/?p=94561"},"modified":"2026-04-01T00:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:40:13","slug":"j-govt-says-multi-pronged-strategy-in-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/j-govt-says-multi-pronged-strategy-in-place\/","title":{"rendered":"J&K grapples with rising drug abuse among youth; Govt says multi-pronged strategy in place"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over 70,000 substance users identified in Kashmir division<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Srinagar, Mar 31 (KNO): The Government of Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday acknowledged the growing menace of drug abuse in the Union Territory, stating that the issue\u2014particularly among youth\u2014has emerged as a serious social and public health concern requiring sustained and coordinated intervention.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Replying to a question raised by MLA Sham Lal Sharma in the Assembly, Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Itoo as per news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that said that J&K, like several other regions in the country, is facing the challenge of increasing use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a fact that the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir is confronted with the menace of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. This challenge has particularly affected a section of the youth, thereby posing serious social and public health concerns,\u201d the Minister informed the House.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Minister said that a joint survey conducted in 2022 by the Health Department and Social Welfare Department across 10 districts of Kashmir division revealed that around 70,000 individuals are involved in substance use.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOut of these, nearly 50,000 are heroin users, and a significant number consume drugs through the intravenous route, which raises additional health risks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sakina Itoo said the government is fully aware of the gravity of the situation and has adopted a comprehensive strategy to combat drug abuse. This includes: awareness campaigns to educate youth and communities about the harmful effects of drugs, preventive interventions at grassroots levels, strengthening enforcement mechanisms to curb supply and expansion of treatment and rehabilitation services. \u201cThe government is addressing the issue through a multi-pronged approach, combining prevention, treatment, and enforcement,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Minister informed that a wide network of de-addiction and rehabilitation centres has been established across the UT, including in District Hospitals, Government Medical Colleges, and police-run facilities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYouth identified as drug dependent are being provided treatment, counselling, and rehabilitation services through these centres,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to official figures, around 69,000 patients have so far been treated or rehabilitated across various addiction treatment facilities in J&K.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThese numbers are being regularly documented, and services are being further scaled up under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) and other schemes,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Providing details of infrastructure, the Minister said: De-Addiction Centres (DDACs): Three functional in Kashmir division (Kulgam, Pulwama, Bandipora) and One functional in Jammu division (Rajouri); Outreach and Drop-In Centres (ODICs): Functional in Kupwara, Srinagar, and Jammu and Community-Based Peer-Led Interventions (CPLI): Operational in Srinagar and Jammu.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAll these institutions are functioning under the supervision of the respective Deputy Commissioners,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Minister emphasized that while the government acknowledges the seriousness of drug abuse among youth, institutional mechanisms for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation are already in place and are being strengthened continuously.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe government remains committed to tackling this issue in a systematic and sustained manner,\u201d she said\u2014(KNO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over 70,000 substance users identified in Kashmir division   Srinagar, Mar 31 (KNO): The Government of Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday acknowledged the growing menace of drug abuse in the Union Territory, stating that the issue—particularly among youth—has emerged as a serious social and public health concern requiring sustained and coordinated intervention.   Replying to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94563,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94561\/revisions\/94563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}