Hyderabad:The Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGNAB) concluded a pivotal awareness programme on Friday aimed at improving drug abuse prevention and increasing conviction rates in narcotics-related cases. The event saw an interaction between various stakeholders, including principal secretary, higher education Burra Venkatesham and TGNAB director Sandeep Shandiliya and senior officers.
TGNAB DSP Narsing Rao said that despite the growing number of cases, the conviction rate remained at 11 per cent. To tackle this challenge, TGNAB was focusing on improving the quality of investigation and has trained over 20,000 police personnel.
He said that when the police began cutting down on drug supply, students travelled long distances to secure narcotics, some for their own consumption and some to sell to cover their expenses.
Dr Phanikanth Kondaparthi, psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda, spoke of the importance of basic counselling skills which any individual can offer drug abusers, focusing on aspects like sleep hygiene, balanced routines and digital detox. He highlighted a therapeutic method known as 'VAPER' which is a model involving validation, active listening, paraphrasing, empathy, and reflective listening to engage with those affected by addiction.
