Andhra Pradesh: EAGLE, Red Cross Join Hands To Fight Drug Abuse
The agreement was signed and exchanged at the EAGLE headquarters in Mangalagiri: Reports
VIJAYAWADA: The AP EAGLE (Elite Anti-Narcotics Group for Law Enforcement) and the Indian Red Cross Society, Andhra Pradesh State Branch, on Friday signed an MoU to step up efforts against drug abuse and work towards making Andhra Pradesh drug-free.
The agreement was signed and exchanged at the EAGLE headquarters in Mangalagiri. EAGLE chief and IGP Aake Ravikrishna said the organisation was pursuing a four-pronged strategy of preventive awareness, intelligence-led enforcement, de-addiction and community participation.
EAGLE had so far registered 2,020 cases under the NDPS Act and seized more than 65,000 kg of ganja, Ravikrishna said. He highlighted Operation Chaitanya, under which ganja cultivation was eliminated in Alluri Sitarama Raju district by 2025. Alternative livelihoods were provided to 29,979 tribal farmers, while horticulture and other sustainable crops were introduced on 29,839 acres with ₹475 crore in government support. The initiative was recognised by the Narcotics Control Bureau as a national best practice, he said.
Under Operation Vajraprahar, drug hotspots are being identified and street-level networks targeted using drug detection kits. Operation Safe Campus Zone has verified 40,000 shops, with a target of making educational institutions drug-free by 2029.
EAGLE is also monitoring 21 trains arriving from Odisha under Operation EAGLE on Trains and checking the illegal sale of NRx/opioid medicines without prescriptions under Operation Garuda.
Ravikrishna said drug abuse posed a threat not only to law and order but also to national security. He urged youngsters to resist peer pressure and said 103 people had received de-addiction treatment.
Red Cross secretary and CEO A.K. Parida, IAS (Retd), said the MoU would develop into a sustained movement, with EAGLE focusing on enforcement and the Red Cross on youth engagement and community participation.
Red Cross AP chairman Y.D. Rama Rao said the partnership would combine EAGLE’s enforcement capabilities with the Red Cross’s volunteer network to take awareness and rehabilitation programmes to villages, educational institutions and families.