Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that besides harming the youth, drugs also have a negative impact on society as a whole which is why it is necessary to enforce a ban on narcotics effectively and Uttar Pradesh is taking effective and committed action in this direction.
During a regional conference on ‘Drugs Trafficking and National Security’ organised under the chairmanship of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, Yogi said, “Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of the Minister for Home and Cooperation, UP has adopted the policy of zero tolerance against drugs. The state government is ready to extend full cooperation to the central government in its attempt to make India a drug-free nation.”
He said, “On the occasion of this regional conference today and in the virtual presence of all of you a total of 4146.75 kg of drugs have been disposed of under a total of 984 charges in the state of UP.”
The CM said that in accordance with the guidelines of the Home Minister, the state-level committee of National Narcotics Coordination (NCORD) has been formed in UP whereas district-level committees have been formed in all 75 districts.
“A total of four meetings of the state-level committee of NCORD have been held in the state,” he said.
He said that it was decided to form the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in the first state-level meeting. “In the second meeting, it was made mandatory to install steel-plated warning boards in all restaurants, pubs and bars while changing the Excise policy. In the third meeting, it was decided to establish the Advanced Data Processing Research Institute, satellite mapping and destruction of the opium poppy crops,” he said.
Yogi said that during the meeting of the Chief Minister’s level committee directives were issued to set up NCORD in all the districts and to organise regular meetings of the district-level committee.
“NCORD has been formed in all 75 districts. In the year 2023, a total of 153 meetings of the district-level committee of NCORD have been held so far,” he said.
He said that the campaign to raise people’s awareness about drugs coupled with enforcement of laws against drugs are proving to be effective in controlling the menace of drugs in society.
“The process of setting up special courts is going on in the top 10 districts with the most pending cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act,” he said.
The CM said that on August 4 last year the ANTF was formed. “ANTF has the powers of search, investigation, attachment, custody, arrest and seizure. An Inspector General of Police level officer has been made head of the ANTF. It has two wings, including operations and headquarters or administration. In these, there is a provision for posting officers as Superintendent of Police, Additional SP and Deputy SP,” he said.
He said that there are three operations units in ANTF. “These are divided into three zones, the western zone, central zone and eastern zone. Meerut, Bareilly and Agra zone are included in the western zone, Lucknow and Kanpur in the central zone and Prayagraj, Gorakhpur and Varanasi in the eastern zone,” he said.
Yogi said that ANTF police stations have been set up in Gorakhpur, Meerut and Barabanki in the first phase and in Jhansi, Saharanpur, and Ghazipur in the second.
“Action against drugs in the state is being taken continuously following the policy of zero tolerance. While taking action against drugs in the state, from the year 2020 to June 2023, in a total of 35,775 cases, a total of 39,344 persons were arrested and and more than 2,13, 726 kgs of drugs were seized,” he said.
He said that the ANTF has arrested a total of 108 people in a total of 40 cases and recovered about 6,569 kg of narcotics in the state since its formation in August 2022. “This year the ANTF demolished two drug factories in Agra district and one in Bareilly district, totaling three drug factories,” he said.
The CM said that between 2021 to June 2023, a total of 460 persons were arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) and a total of more than 44,455 kg of drugs were seized.
“Under the continuous process in UP, in the years 2022 and 2023, more than 4,631 kg of drugs have been disposed of in a total of 1,08,289 cases,” he said.
He said that in order to speed up the drug addiction awareness campaign, a total of 22 drug de-addiction centers are functional in the state.
“On the occasion of the International Drug Prevention Day on June 24 a swearing-in program was organised at the ANTF and the police offices of all the districts of the state,” he said.
Yogi said that under the awareness campaign against drug abuse, programs like corner meetings, rallies, oaths, sports and motorcycle rallies are being organised.
“The message for drug prevention is also being broadcast by cinema houses, FM radio and traffic control rooms,” he said.
