CM inaugurates 15 de-addiction centres across State

15-bedded facilities to offer treatment free of cost

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday inaugurated Alcohol/ Drug De-addiction centres established in 15 government hospitals in the State with an estimated annual expenditure of ₹4.98 crore.

The centres will function daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. where alcohol and drug addicts can get treatment free of charge. The 15-bedded centres will have 11 staff members, including a psychiatrist, doctors and three counsellors and a doctor’s room, counselling room, a 15-bedded in-patient ward, an out-patient ward and a waiting room. The staff have been trained by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of AIIMS.

Location

The centres have been started at the Government General Hospitals/ District Hospitals at Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Paderu, Kakinada, Rajamahendravaram, Eluru, Vijayawada, Guntur, Ongole, Nellore, Kadapa, Kurnool, Tirupathi and Anantapur.

The number of centres will be increased to 25 by the end of the year covering every parliamentary constituency.

Action plan

The Department for Welfare of Differently-Abled, Transgender and Senior Citizens prepared a State action plan for drug demand reduction with the help of the Department of Medical, Health and Family Welfare. As per NDDTC data, 13.7% of the population of Andhra Pradesh in the age group of 10-75 are using alcohol. About 47 lakh people are using alcohol, 3.6 lakh opioid, 1.08 lakh Ganja and 1.4 lakh are using drugs and need assistance.

The establishment of the centres gained prominence in the context of the Chief Minister’s decision to implement prohibition in a phased manner.

The Chief Minister reviewed the activities of the Medical and Health Department under Mana Palana – Mee Suchana programme.

Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Principal Secretary (Women, Children, Differently-Abled and Senior Citizens) Damayanthi, Special Chief Secretary (Medical & Health) Jawahar Reddy, Commissioner (Health & Family Welfare) K. Bhaskar, Director (Women Development & Child Welfare) and Dr. Kritika Shukla, Director (Welfare of Differently-Abled, Transgender and Senior Citizens) were among those present.