Chakravyuh: The Escape Room

• 02 May 2024

Why in News?

Recently, the Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau (HSNCB) has launched a pioneering project called ‘Chakravyuh: The escape room’ which aims to keep teenagers away from narcotics addiction.

Key Points

• Chakravyuh, meaning labyrinth, is an “anti-drug escape room” experience designed to simulate real-life challenges through immersive and interactive learning environments.
• The first functional smart classroom has been launched in DAV Public School, Ambala, and the project will be replicated in other government and private schools across the state.
• It is designed to simulate realistic scenarios in a controlled environment where participants must use their intellect and moral judgment to navigate the situations.
  • The setup is equipped with modern technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to create engaging and captivating scenarios that grab the attention and interest of young people.
  • The activity involves solving a set of challenges, each representing a different life scenario, including the urge to take drugs.
• The escape room educates participants about the consequences of drug abuse and the importance of good decision-making skills. It immerses them in scenarios that require quick thinking and effective communication, reflecting real-life situations. The initiative enhances teamwork and peer support mechanisms by requiring a collaborative effort to progress through challenges.
• The HSNCB is also working on digitising this experience so that the children interested in gaming can also play this game online and gain knowledge about the adverse impact of narcotic abuse.

Drug Addiction

• It refers to the condition of being addicted to a drug, particularly narcotic drugs.
• These are generally illegal drugs that affect the mood and behaviour of a person.
• Drug abuse refers to the use of certain chemicals for the purpose of creating pleasurable effects on the brain.
• There are over 190 million drug users around the world and the problem has been increasing at alarming rates, especially among young adults under the age of 30.
• Government Initiatives to Tackle Drug Addiction:
  • It constituted the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) in November, 2016 and revived the scheme of “Financial Assistance to States for Narcotics Control”.
  • Narcotics Control Bureau has been provided funds for developing a new software i.e. Seizure Information Management System (SIMS) which will create a complete online database of drug offences and offenders.
  • The government has constituted a fund called “National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse” to meet the expenditure incurred in connection with combating illicit traffic in Narcotic Drugs; rehabilitating addicts, and educating the public against drug abuse, etc.
  • The government is also conducting a National Drug Abuse Survey to measure trends of drug abuse in India through the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment with the help of National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of AIIMS.
  • 'Project Sunrise' was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2016, to tackle the rising HIV prevalence in north-eastern states in India, especially among people injecting drugs.
  • The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, (NDPS) 1985: It prohibits a person from producing, possessing, selling, purchasing, transporting, storing, and/or consuming any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
    • The NDPS Act has since been amended thrice – in 1988, 2001 and 2014.
    • The Act extends to the whole of India and it applies also to all Indian citizens outside India and to all persons on ships and aircraft registered in India.
  • Government has also announced the launch of the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’, or Drug-Free India Campaign which focuses on community outreach programs.