Srinagar, Feb 13: Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed more than 9,000 awareness and outreach programmes under the ‘Nasha Mukt J&K Abhiyan’, with participation of over 4.51 lakh individuals across the Union Territory, officials informed during a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Friday.
The outreach-based campaign, spearheaded by the Information Department in close collaboration with key departments, is aimed at curbing substance abuse through awareness, rehabilitation and coordinated action at the grassroots level.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary reviewed the progress and impact of the initiative and stressed the need for stronger digital integration and institutional capacity building. He directed officials to link the Nasha Mukt J&K portal with the National Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (NMBA) portal to ensure seamless data sharing, enhanced visibility and effective monitoring of activities.
Officials informed that besides large-scale awareness drives conducted in Panchayats, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and educational institutions, 218 individuals have been successfully rehabilitated as part of the campaign. Additionally, 1.83 lakh bulk SMS messages were sent to participants acknowledging their involvement and reinforcing the anti-drug message.
Emphasising transparency and accessibility, Dulloo directed that trained counsellors be mapped to their respective educational institutions, Panchayats, ULBs and health facilities on the portal. He said their qualifications, training capacity and upcoming training schedules should be prominently displayed to enable easy public access and better coordination.
The Chief Secretary also asked the Health Department to design certified courses in de-addiction and counselling to create a skilled professional workforce across departments. He directed IMHANS Srinagar to introduce diversified and certified training programmes and expand facilities in the Jammu Division as well.
Describing substance abuse as a serious public health challenge, Dulloo called for a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen the counsellor base and ensure structured capacity building to address the issue effectively.
He further urged departments to develop age-specific and profession-specific awareness content tailored for ASHA workers, Self-Help Group (SHG) members, youth, elderly citizens, government employees, police personnel and prosecution staff.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary also took a live demonstration of the Nasha Mukt J&K portal and directed that it be hosted on the State Data Centre to ensure improved security, reliability and accessibility.
