A 100-day action plan to make Vizag ganja-free

Visakhapatnam: In an effort to make Visakhapatnam a ganja-free district, the city police have come up with a 100-day action plan.

The action plan is the outcome of the recent review meeting held with Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha and concerned officials.

Earlier, the Home Minister underlined the need to trace out the roots for the easy accessibility to ganja across the district and consider measures to place a check on them.

In line with this, the prime focus is going to be on eliminating the cultivation of cannabis not just in Visakhapatnam but also in areas where the crop is largely grown, including Odisha and Andhra –Odisha border, and placing a check on its illegal transportation.

For this to become a reality, technology will be used to track the ganja plantations and bring down its transportation on a war-footing. Steps will also be taken to disrupt transportation of cannabis by road, rail, air and sea routes as well, the police officials mention.

There will be strict monitoring on the accused who were arrested in NDPS cases. A special team will be formed to analyse CDRs, IPDRs, analysis of bank statements of criminals along with their electronic devices.

Also, the concentration will be on rehabilitation and de-addiction centres and providing related services with the support of various voluntary organisations. This apart, awareness drives will be taken up to educate youth on the ill effects of drug abuse at educational institutions.

The anti-drug campaign will be taken forward through screening short films, circulating posters and pamphlets and organising rallies and marathons.

With the support of the district administration, a budget will be allotted for the utilisation of technology and the service of the sniffer dogs to detect narcotics.

A special toll-free number 14500 has been set up and the number will be made visible at various places.