A review meeting, chaired by the Hon. Governor of the Northern Province, N. Vethanayahan, was held today, Thursday (02.10.2025), at the Governor’s Secretariat to discuss progress regarding the establishment of rehabilitation centers and drop-in centers for individuals addicted to life-threatening drugs in the Northern Province.
The meeting followed a previous discussion held in July at the Governor’s Secretariat with the participation of the Director General of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB). Today’s meeting focused on reviewing the progress of decisions made during the earlier discussion.
It was previously decided to establish drop-in centers at hospitals in Gurunagar (Jaffna), Oddusuddan (Mullaitivu), and Murungan (Mannar). As renovation work at Gurunagar Hospital requires additional time, it was decided to temporarily set up a drop-in center at another hospital. Since the hospitals in Oddusuddan and Murungan are ready, the Governor instructed the immediate establishment of drop-in centers at these locations.
The Jaffna District Secretary noted that land has been allocated in the Maruthankerni Divisional Secretariat area for the permanent establishment of a rehabilitation center, and a letter regarding this has been sent to the Director of the NDDCB.
Until a permanent rehabilitation center is established, it was previously decided to operate a temporary center in Krishnapuram (Kilinochchi) or Mullaitivu. However, it was agreed that a team from the NDDCB, along with a team from the Northern Province Ministry of Health, would conduct a comprehensive survey of the buildings in these areas. It was further decided to commence operations of a rehabilitation center at one of these locations by the end of this year.
The Governor highlighted the alarming increase in drug use among school students, noting that students he met on Wednesday raised several concerns in this regard. He emphasized the urgent need to expand and accelerate awareness programs. It was also pointed out that some schools have been uncooperative with awareness initiatives. The Governor stressed that no school should refuse cooperation and instructed the Chief Secretary to issue strict directives in this regard.
Additionally, the Governor directed the Chief Secretary to continue awareness programs for teachers and provide training for relevant field officers under the provincial and central governments, along with issuing structured guidelines for these efforts.
The meeting also discussed establishing a mechanism to ensure timely sharing of information regarding school dropouts with relevant departments. It was requested that non-governmental organizations conducting drug-related awareness programs operate under the supervision of relevant departments.
Previous meetings had addressed the misuse of certain painkillers as life-threatening narcotic pills. Instructions were given to the Jaffna Regional Director of Health Services to intensify monitoring of wholesale and retail distributors. As progress has been observed in Jaffna, the Governor directed the Northern Province Director of Health Services to implement similar measures in the other four districts of the province.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Secretary of the Northern Province, the Secretary to the Governor, the Secretary of the Northern Province Ministry of Health, the Jaffna District Secretary, Additional District Secretaries of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, the Commissioner of the Northern Province Department of Probation and Child Care Services, the Director of Northern Province Health Services, the Director of Jaffna Teaching Hospital, the Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Jaffna Region, and officials from the NDDCB.
