Ongole: 47lakh tipplers require help to get rid of habit
Andhra Pradesh Madya Vimochana Prachara Committee Chairman Vallamreddy Lakshmana Reddy addressing a press meet in Ongole on Wednesday
Ongole: The Andhra Pradesh Madya Vimochana Prachara Committee chairman Vallamreddy Lakshmana Reddy announced that 13.7 per cent of the population between 10 years to 75 years in AP are alcoholics as per a study by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre in All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Ghaziabad.
He announced that there are already 15 de-addiction centres working in the State to motivate the alcoholics to drop the habit of drinking liquor and the government is spending Rs 4.98 crore for their maintenance. Addressing a press conference at the Prohibition and Excise DC office in Ongole on Wednesday, Lakshmana Reddy explained that the government is committed to prohibit the consumption of liquor in the State.
He said that there were 47 lakh people who require help to get rid of the habit of the consumption of alcohol, 3.6 lakh people to leave opioids, 1.08 lakh people to leave ganja and another 1.40 lakh people to discontinue the habit of using other drugs in the State and the de-addiction centres will work for them. He said that each of the centres will have 11-member staff including one psychologist, one MBBS doctor, three counseLlors and they are trained from the NDDTC at the AIIMS. He said that these centres offer outpatient and inpatient services with a 15-bed capacity and the number of centres will be increased to 25 by the year-end as per the orders of the Chief Minister.
Lakshmana Reddy said that the Special Enforcement Bureau is working well in control of illegal transport of liquor and has put focus on State borders. As of now, he announced that the SEB has booked 485 cases on 955 people and seized 730 vehicles in the State.
He said that there is no trace of locally made liquor in the Kurichedu sanitiser deaths incident and announced that the police would open rowdy-sheets on the peddlers and implement PD Act on the habituated offenders. Excise DCP Srimannarayana, SEB Assistant Commissioner Srinivasa Chowdary and RIMS de-addiction centre administrator Dr Suvarna Raju were present.