Having made considerable headway in its war against drugs over the past three weeks, the UT administration has decided to extend its campaign by another month in an effort to free the city from the menace.

The decision was taken during a review meeting chaired by UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria at the police headquarters in Sector 9 on Thursday. Early September, the administrator had given the police and other authorities time till September 30 to eliminate the illicit drug trade from the city.

Acting on his directions, the UT police intensified its campaign against drugs and registered 163 FIRs, arrested 173 people and placed 525 others under preventive detention from September 11 to 30. A large quantity of contraband was also recovered during the period (see box).

Special focus was placed on 65 drug hotspots, including Ram Darbar, Mauli Jagran, Dhanas and other areas, from where 99 people were arrested and 195 detained. Of those arrested, 61 were allegedly involved in cases previously registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, according to the police.

While disrupting the supply chain, authorities also sought to rehabilitate drug users. During the campaign, 83 drug users were identified, of whom 37 were admitted to rehabilitation centres for treatment, police said.

On September 23, the administration launched anti-drug helplines for residents to report drug-related activity in their areas. In a week, the helplines received 453 calls and messages, of which 332 were from Chandigarh and 121 from outside the city.

Of the 332 inputs received from the UT, 167 were found to be actionable, while 97 were general enquiries and 68 contained incomplete information. The actionable inputs resulted in seven FIRs, seven arrests and 21 preventive detentions, according to the police.

Street plays, awareness drives and community outreach programmes were also conducted during the campaign.

Drug conviction rate reaches 92.7%

The UT Police said its conviction rate in cases registered under the NDPS Act stood at 92.7% from January to August 2026. Of the 97 drug cases decided during this period, 90 resulted in convictions and seven in acquittals. In 2025, 137 NDPS cases were decided, of which 116 (85%) resulted in convictions and 21 in acquittals.

During the meeting, Kataria also launched the Chandigarh Police Volleyball Cup 2026 and unveiled the tournament jerseys. The tournament will be held from October 2 to 10 at Police Lines, Sector 26.