Jammu, Jan 28 (KNO): At a time when drug addiction is posing a serious social and public health challenge across the country and when enforcement-heavy approaches have often struggled to deliver sustained resultsJammu & Kashmir has scripted a fundamentally different narrative. Anchored in data, transparency, institutional convergence and sustained community engagement, the Union Territory’s approach marks a decisive shift in how substance abuse is being addressed in India.
Launched on April 5, 2025, the NashaMukt Jammu & Kashmir Abhiyan spearheaded by the Department of Information & Public Relations (DIPR) with other government departments has emerged as one of the most comprehensive, technology-driven and publicly verifiable de-addiction campaigns in the country. Aligned with the national vision of the NashaMukt Bharat Abhiyan, the J&K initiative introduces governance innovations that distinguish it from similar efforts elsewhere.
Meticulously Designed, Mission-Mode Execution
From the outset, the campaign has been designed with exceptional institutional rigour, combining strategic planning at the highest administrative levels with disciplined execution on the ground. Outreach activities are conducted across three clearly defined levels—Panchayats, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and educational institutions—ensuring complete rural and urban coverage across Jammu & Kashmir.
District administrations operate on a structured and pre-approved weekly calendar, with specific days earmarked for activities at Panchayat, ULB and institutional levels. This approach has transformed awareness generation from isolated or symbolic events into a continuous, predictable and sustained process. Special emphasis on schools and colleges reflects a conscious strategy to prioritise early intervention, prevention and behavioural change among young populations.
A Campaign That Can Be Seen, Measured and Verified
One of the most path-breaking features of the Abhiyan is the NashaMukt Jammu & Kashmir public dashboard updated on real-time basis placing transparency at the heart of governance. Unlike conventional campaigns where progress remains confined to internal files, every outreach event under this initiative is digitally logged, monitored and made publicly accessible.
As reflected on the dashboard as of January 2026, a total of 5,736 Panchayat-level events have been conducted out of 7,193 scheduled, while Urban Local Bodies have completed 630 events against a target of 853. Educational institutions have held 2,319 programmes out of 2,513 planned. Collectively, these activities have directly engaged over 4.35 lakh participants across the Union Territory. This level of real-time, district-wise transparency depicting schedule, execution and even participation sets a new benchmark in public accountability.
Whole-of-Government Convergence for a Unified Response
Recognising that substance abuse is a multi-dimensional challenge, the administration has adopted a whole-of-government approach, bringing Health, Home/Police, Education, Social Welfare, Rural Development, Urban Development, Youth Services & Sports and Information Departments under a single unified framework. Each department has been assigned clearly defined responsibilities to ensure that prevention, enforcement, counselling, awareness and rehabilitation efforts function in a coordinated manner.
To overcome the long-standing problem of fragmented reporting, eight key departments have been onboarded onto a common digital platform, enabling real-time uploading of activity data onto the Nasha Mukt Jammu & Kashmir portal. This institutional convergence has reduced duplication, bridged data gaps and ensured a cohesive and synchronised response to substance abuse across sectors.
Engrossing Outreach Through Visual Storytelling
To ensure that awareness activities remain engaging and impactful, the campaign has made extensive use of short, theme-based video films during outreach programmes. Screened at Panchayat halls, ULB venues, schools and colleges, these films portray real-life situations involving family distress, peer pressure, addiction cycles and recovery journeys.
By blending compelling visual narratives with expert messaging, the films have transformed routine awareness sessions into immersive community experiences. This audio-visual approach has proven particularly effective in overcoming barriers of literacy and attention span, while generating deeper emotional engagement especially among youth and students.
From One-Time Awareness to Sustained Citizen Engagement
A defining innovation of the programme lies in its structured post-event engagement mechanism. After every outreach activity, participant details including contact numbers are uploaded to the portal. By the same evening, participants receive personalised acknowledgement messages reinforcing the campaign’s core message and reconnecting them with available support systems.
So far, over 1.12 lakh SMS messages have been sent under this mechanism. In addition, the portal prominently displays district-wise helpline numbers for all 20 districts and enables district administrations to upload grievance summaries, ensuring responsiveness, follow-up and institutional accountability beyond the event stage.
Human Capacity Building for Sustained De-Addiction Efforts
Beyond awareness generation, the administration has placed strong emphasis on strengthening human capacity at the grassroots. District administrations have initiated fresh rounds of training for resource persons, identified dedicated counsellors for schools and colleges, and mobilised ASHA workers and paramedics to reach vulnerable populations at the community level.
Self-Help Groups have also been actively engaged to deepen community participation and ownership of the campaign. Together, these measures are creating a trained and locally rooted support system capable of sustained intervention, counselling and rehabilitation well beyond the formal campaign phase.
Media, Cultural and Youth-Centric Engagement
The campaign’s reach has been significantly amplified through a strategic mix of print, electronic and digital media, supported by radio jingles and television commercials. A dedicated ‘Inspire’ podcast series, aired on DD Jammu and DD Kashmir, has featured mental health experts, doctors and eminent personalities, generating over one lakh views and impressions, particularly among Gen-Z audiences.
Cultural interventions such as street plays, folk performances and nukkad nataks have added a powerful local dimension, enabling messages to resonate in familiar cultural idioms and local languages, and extending the campaign’s influence beyond formal institutional settings.
A Governance Model setting new benchmarks
By combining data transparency, institutional convergence, immersive communication and citizen-level follow-up, the Nasha Mukt Jammu & Kashmir Abhiyan has evolved beyond the idea of a conventional campaign. It now stands as a replicable governance model, demonstrating how complex public health challenges can be addressed through planning, participation and public accountability.
As Phase-II of the campaign gains momentum following high-level administrative reviews by the Chief Secretary himself, Jammu & Kashmir’s fight against drugs is no longer merely being waged, it is being tracked, tested and trusted by the public itself, setting a new national standard in the pursuit of a drug-free India—(KNO)