HYDERABAD: The police and excise officials brought to the notice of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Wednesday said that ganja was being cultivated in the Andhra-Odisha border region and it was supplied to Telangana from Chintur and Bhadrachalam, later to Karnataka and Maharashtra. They said in Chhattisgarh, ganja was being produced and supplied.
Among those using ganja are migrant labourers, youth, auto drivers and hamalis. They opined that along with the police and excise departments, the forest department checks posts should also increase the surveillance.
Director-General of Police (DGP) Mahender Reddy asked the officials to take stringent measures to identify the hotspots of the ganja consumption and take stringent measures to control them. Measures will be taken to coordinate with the Vizag and Malkangiri police.
The Chief Minister wanted appointment of special advocates to deal with illegal drug cases so that criminals might be punished expeditiously. He also wanted special programmes to be conducted to create awareness among the youth about drug abuse.
The Chief Minister handed over the responsibility of making short films and video ads on the ill effects of the drugs to the Chief Secretary. He wanted lessons to be included in the school curriculum on the ill effects of drugs. He instructed OSD Desapthy Srinivas to include special lessons on drug abuse and its adverse effects in the syllabus.
For those cultivating ganja, their permits would be cancelled and schemes like Rythu Bandhu, and Rythu Bima would not be extended to them, the Chief Minister said.
He said another high-level meeting with the officials concerned would be convened to finalise the full-time strategy shortly.
