Telangana parents are increasingly using the EAGLE Force helpline 1908 to report suspected drug use among children, with officials identifying nine minors in two days and moving eight of them to de-addiction centres after counselling.
The cases were detected through information received by the state’s anti-narcotics unit, EAGLE Force Director Sandeep Shandilya said, according to Telangana Today. The helpline is intended to allow families and communities to alert authorities to suspected substance use and seek counselling and rehabilitation support.
In one case from the Cyberabad Commissionerate limits, a mother informed officials that her son and his friends were allegedly consuming drugs. EAGLE Force personnel took eight people into custody, including six minors and two adults. One of the adults was identified as a suspected drug supplier.
Drug tests returned positive results in the case. Those who tested positive were shifted to de-addiction centres, while police registered cases at Jeedimetla and Sanathnagar police stations and arrested the suspected drug peddlers, the report said.
In a separate incident in Wanaparthy district, parents sought help for their son, who was allegedly addicted to ganja and other drugs. A drug test confirmed substance use, after which the boy was sent to a de-addiction centre.
The cases show how the response to suspected drug use among minors involves more than enforcement. Parents who contact the helpline may trigger a process involving assessment, counselling, testing and referral to treatment facilities, while cases involving suspected suppliers are handled through the police system.
Officials have urged families to report drug-related concerns through 1908 and have stressed the importance of early intervention, parental vigilance and community participation. The approach places parents and local communities at the first point of contact in identifying possible substance use among children.
Telangana’s government treatment system includes government hospital-based facilities for people affected by drug abuse. The state has 35 designated government teaching hospitals functioning as Addiction Treatment Facilities, or ATFs. These centres are intended to provide medical treatment, counselling and support for people with substance-use disorders.
The EAGLE Force also has a referral and support role within this system, directing affected youngsters towards counselling and rehabilitation services. The cases reported from Cyberabad and Wanaparthy indicate that the helpline is being used across both metropolitan and district settings.
Authorities have not provided details in the report about the substances involved in all nine cases, the duration of treatment, or the subsequent status of the minors. The immediate next step for families reporting suspected substance use is assessment by officials and referral to appropriate counselling or de-addiction support.
