Hyderabad, Oct 18 (IANS): The Telangana government on Monday announced that it will formulate a strategy to deal sternly with the drug menace in the state.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will hold a meeting with the top officials of Police and Excise Departments on October 20 to evolve the strategy.

During the recently Assembly session, the Chief Minister had given an assurance that the government will deal stringently with the drug peddling. He gave the assurance when Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi drew his attention to the growing problem of drugs in Hyderabad.

According to the Chief Minister's Office, after formation of Telangana, the state government had taken several measures to strengthen the Police Department, which included its modernisation, for maintaining better law and order situation in the state.

The state government had strictly enforced the ban on illicit liquor, and playing cards clubs. Against the backdrop of increase in the drug abuse cases in the country as well as the illegal drug mafia, the CM will be holding a high level meeting with the police and excise officials in the state to take measures to eradicate and arrest the problem, the CMO said.

Home Minister Mehmood Ali, Excise Minister T. Srinivas Goud, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Home and Excise Departments' chief secretaries, DGP Mahender Reddy, police commissioners, and other top officials will attend the meeting.

The CM has instructed the district excise officials to come out with reports on the existing situation and measures so far taken.

The meeting will also discuss the matter pertaining to incidence of illicit liquor sale and functioning of playing card clubs at some places in the state and the measures to be taken to curb them immediately. By and large, the illicit liquor trade and functioning of the playing cards clubs were successfully controlled in the state barring a few incidents. The proposed meeting will draw an action plan to prevent youth from getting into the trap of drug abuse and also rehabilitate those who became victims.