Staff Correspondent: Dhaka, Oct-07,
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Thursday
called upon the family members to come forward of bring their drug addicted
members under proper treatment without hiding information.
The Home Minister made the call
while addressing as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony of a 60-bed
state-of-the-art drug rehabilitation center named “ OASIS” at Keraniganj, in
the outskirt of Dhaka under the initiative of Bangladesh Police Welfare Trust.
"What will happen to those
who are addicted to drugs? We want to treat them, bring them back to a healthy
normal life. If any member of the family is addicted to drugs, bring them under
proper treatment without hiding, he said urging the family members to come
forward for this regard.
"We are working to reduce
the supply, demand and harm of drugs. That is why everyone has to come
forward," he said.
The Home Minister said that drugs are not made in our country. But we are victims of its horrors. We have seen the consequences if we do not stop the youth from drugs.
He said that under the leadership
of the Prime Minister, we have all succeeded in fighting against militant
terrorism in a united manner. Now we all have to work together too against
drugs.
Appreciating the initiative to
set up the "Oasis" under Bangladesh Police Welfare Trust, the Home
Minister called upon to the rich people to take such initiatives.
In his speech, Inspector General
of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed mentioned the reason for joining the initiative
to build Oasis and said, "rich-poor regardless I have seen a horrible
picture of the suffering of families with drug addicts. I have seen the
established people of the society secretly shed tears.”
He said, according to many, the
number of drug addicts in Bangladesh is 80 lakh. Some say that number has
exceeded one crore. There are 7,000 medical facilities under their public and
private management. “Then how many years it will take to treat them?. With
these aspects in mind, we have taken the initiative to set up a modern drug
addiction treatment and mental health counseling center,” he added.
He said, "In future, we want
to build such a hospital with five hundred to one thousand beds in a large area
on the banks of Kaliganga river in Manikganj." In this case, we want to be
a regional hub.
The IGP said that under the
leadership of the Prime Minister, we have been able to be 'models' in many
cases. In this case too we can be 'models'. He called upon the rich to come
forward for cooperation in this regard.
Chaired by IGP and chairman of Bangladesh Police Welfare Trust Benazir Ahmed, the programme was also addressed among others, by Health Minister Zahid Maleque, Director General of the Directorate of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Abul Basar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, Additional Director General of the Department of Narcotics Control Md. Azizul Islam.
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