Meghalaya’s Chief Minister emphasizes youth empowerment in drug elimination efforts

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaDecember 6, 2023

Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, on Tuesday attended the DREAM and BUILD programs of Social Welfare department at U Soso Tham Auditorium, in the presence of Minister, Social Welfare, Paul Lyngdoh, Minister, Health & Family Welfare, M Ampareen Lyngdoh, MLA, Mawkyrwat, Renikton Lyngdoh, Director General of Police, Dr L R Bishnoi and other senior officials.

DREAM which is an acronym for Drug Rehabilitation, Elimination and Action Mission and Community-State Forum BUILD, an acronym for Bringing Unity in Locale Against Drugs are programs of the Social Welfare program in drug abuse elimination and rehabilitation of abusers.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, said that the youth is one of the greatest resources for a state and a country to shift from the conservative economy to a sustainable regenerative economy. “A number of policies and programs of the government is centered around the youth to have a more holistic policy to push what is important for us that is our youth,” he said. He added that for a successful implementation of a visionary program the stakeholder approach needs to be adopted where the focus is on the stakeholder and not on targets achieved as in the scheme based approach.

The Chief Minister further stated that the children are not given guidance at the right time and that is one of the factors leading to the issue of drugs abuse. He further elaborated on how different programs of the state government in sports, music and entrepreneurship are linked to youth so that they channelize their potential and talent to constructive activities and do not fall prey to the menace of drug abuse. “Once they have a sense of purpose and goal in their lives they will be focused and work towards it,” he said. He also announced that the CM Elevate program will have certain quota or reservation for organizations fighting against drug abuse and for entrepreneurs who have come out clean and sober.

Talking about the BUILD program the Chief Minister said Meghalaya is a strong community based system and community leaders play a crucial role in different social aspects. “For social issues like drugs abuse the community is an important stakeholder not only for drug abuse elimination but also for the rehabilitation of abusers and for the success of programs like DREAM,” he said. He added while different departments like Police, Health and Social Welfare need to work together it is also important to work with the community. He also said that it is important to deal with drug abusers with sympathy and empathy and not to stigmatize them.  

 Minister, Social Welfare, Paul Lyngdoh, in his speech said that the government is doing its best to ensure that drugs abuse is eliminated from Meghalaya. He also thanked the different NGOs, church organizations and dorbar shnongs in their constant support against drug abuse in the state.

Earlier, DGP, Meghalaya, L R Bishnoi, in his address said that Meghalaya Police has always involved itself with the community to combat any kind of problem or issue that is faced by the state. He spoke of the factors responsible for the rise of drug trafficking and said that drug abusers have increased in the State and is not only limited to only males as large number of drug abusers are young girls and women too. He highlighted the efforts of Meghalaya police in curbing drug abuse and informed that Rs 361 crores worth of drugs has been apprehended by the police.

The dignitaries and representatives of different organizations and religious bodies also signed the Community Accord for fight against drug abuse during the course of the program. The Chief Minister also handed over a cheque of Rs 6 lakhs to Mawlai Dorbor for their initiatives and efforts towards drug rehabilitation.