Says three rehab centres functional in J&K to combat drug menace
Srinagar, Mar 25 (KNO): There is no proposal before the government to establish a dedicated veterinary college in Chenab Valley, the government said on Tuesday.
Responding to the query of MLA Arjun Singh Raju, the Minister In Charge of Agriculture Production, as reported by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said the required staff of veterinarians and para-veterinarians were available in all veterinary hospitals across the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir during the lumpy skin disease outbreak that occurred in August 2022 and was successfully controlled by January 2023.
He said BVSc students from SKUAST Jammu and SKUAST Kashmir were deployed as an additional workforce to aid in controlling the spread of the disease.
“There is no proposal for establishing a dedicated veterinary college in Chenab Valley under consideration in the department,” he added.
The minister said the establishment of new veterinary centres involves the creation of posts, which have been restricted by the government for the current fiscal year. “However, veterinary services for remote and uncovered villages in the Ramban constituency are being provided through two Mobile Veterinary Units accessed through a toll-free number, 1962,” he added.
Responding to a question from MLA Surinder Kumar, Health and Medical Education Department Minister Sakina Itoo said the freezing of assets of drug peddlers pertains to the Home Department.
“Regarding establishing rehabilitation centres to mitigate the drug problem, the Social Welfare Department has informed that there are three rehabilitation centres registered/recognised by the government, which are presently functional in the districts of Rajouri, Kulgam, and Bandipora, and are being run in government buildings by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs),” she said.
The health minister said there are three Outreach and Drop-in Centres (ODICS) each in the districts of Jammu, Srinagar and Kupwara. “The Social Welfare Department has also informed that a proposal for the establishment of three rehabilitation centres in Udhampur, Reasi and Ramban has been submitted to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India,” she said—(KNO)
