52 207 Haryana youth registered in de-addiction centres in a year Minister

Chandigarh, Mar 27 (PTI) In the past year, 52,207 youths were registered as OPD or IPD patients in government and private drug de-addiction centres in Haryana, the state Assembly was informed on Thursday.
     INLD member Arjun Chautala had raised the question regarding the number of youths affected due to "intoxication in the state together with district wise number of government drug de-addiction centres".
     He also sought to know the steps the government has taken to prevent drug addiction and intoxication among the youth.
     In the reply tabled in the House, Health Minister Arti Singh Rao said the number of youth in the age group of 18-30 years registered as OPD/IPD patients in government and private drug de-addiction centres in Haryana in FY 2024-25 (April 1, 2024 to March 18, 2025) is 52,207.
     According to the data, among the districts, the number of these patients in Panchkula was 13,442, in Ambala it was 8,192, in Gurugram the number was 5,471 and it was 4,474 in Hisar.
     Rao said 46 new de-addiction centres will be opened across the state to help the youth to overcome drug addiction.
     She assured that she herself would also monitor the de-addiction centres to ensure they provide necessary facilities as required.
     Rao said the state government is running a campaign for de-addiction. Over the past five years, 14,621 young people have been freed from addiction, and the government's efforts in this regard continue, she added.
     She said at present 130 de-addiction centres are operating in the state, including private, government and semi-government centres.
     The licences of these de-addiction centres are issued by the Director Services after the consent of the Director General Health Services, Haryana according to the Haryana De-addiction Centre Rules, 2010 and their amendments in 2018.
     The Health Minister said urine drug detection kits are being made available in hospitals for early detection of drug abuse.
     These kits quickly identify the presence of substances like opioids, cocaine, cannabis, benzodiazepines, amphetamines and barbiturates in urine samples. Detection of drug abuse through these kits helps the doctor to provide appropriate and early treatment to the drug addict individual, she said.
     The state government is considering a proposal to open 46 new de-addiction centres in areas with a high prevalence of drug addiction.
     Out of these, 12 are proposed to be opened in district hospitals and 34 in sub-divisional hospitals.
     The 12 proposed de-addiction centres in district hospitals are in Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Jhajjar, Jind, Palwal, Panipat, Nuh, Rewari, Rohtak, Sonipat and Yamunanagar districts.
     She said 34 proposed de-addiction centres will be opened in sub-divisional level (SDH) hospitals and at the level of community health centres.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)