Punjab's private drug rehab centres facing closure
Darpan News Desk IANS, 09 Feb, 2023 12:58 PM
Chandigarh, Feb 9 (IANS) The Punjab Drug Rehabilitation Centres Union (PDRCU) on Thursday sought intervention of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to review a policy of the previous Congress government that has brought such centres being run in the private sector to the verge of closure.
Members of the special committee set up by the PDRCU said they have given many representations to officials of the Health Department to revoke the policy.
Kunal Lakhanpal, a member of the committee, said: "In 2020 the then Congress government mandated that every rehab centre should have a psychiatrist, an MBBS doctor and a nurse on its payroll. It is illogical as no medicine is to be given at these centres. We admit people after detoxification. Such people are provided counselling. The idea is to make them mentally strong so that they don't fall prey to drugs again."
Another member said Angad Singh said that the policy lead to high operating costs, which "we cannot meet given the fact that we run small centres and the fee charged from patients is also bare minimum as the affected families, by and large, are poor".
Under the policy, some private rehab centres have already been served with closure notices. Some have even closed. There are cases where rehab centres have shifted from Punjab and set up bases in neighbouring states.
Another committee member Sanjeev Sharma said: "In case the policy is enforced in its current form, 74 private rehab centres will be shut down."
The bank employees organised demonstrations, sit-in protests, processions and rallies near their workplaces in different cities and towns protesting against the privatisation of banks undertaken by the Centre.
While complimenting the enforcement officers, he said their hands-on approach has led to large number of seizures in the state of fake and smuggled goods. He was speaking at an interactive session by FICCI CASCADE on the 'Strategies' to combat smuggling and counterfeiting, here.
Cheema was responding the Centre's decision on new rules governing the Chandigarh Administration employees, who are currently working under the Punjab service rules but will now come under the Central Civil Services Rules.
Reacting strongly to the announcement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to bring Chandigarh union territory employees under Central civil services rules, the SAD said, "It is incumbent on the AAP government to make the Centre understand that Chandigarh is a union territory as per an ad-hoc arrangement only.
As per the Commission, as no objection has been lodged with them from anywhere on this issue, no action can be taken in advance in this matter.Starting from the 2022-23 academic year, the state government has decided to add the Hindu religious book to the curriculum of classes 6 to 12.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials carried out raids at 11 places in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in connection with the fake gun licences scam in which Rs 2.78 lakh were issued to non-entitled persons. The ED carried out raids till Thursday evening.
