Thailand's caretaker government has vowed to step up its crackdown on drugs, offering scholarships and disbursement of funds to revive the economy, local press reported Saturday.

The renewed drug war, the fifty of its kind, was geared up after Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra met on Friday with Pol Lt-Gen Krissana Pol-avant, secretary-general of the Narcotics Control Board and Wan Muhammad Nor Matha, director of the Center to Fight Narcotics to discuss emerging drug problems.

Thaksin vowed to take urgent actions to solve the drug problem. "I am calling for all information on the spread of drugs," said the premier.

According to Wan Nor, drug abuse and trafficking have been on the rise in 20 provinces including Bangkok and major tourist provinces.

Chaturon Chaisaeng, chairman of a committee overseeing the scholarship scheme for underprivileged students, said that the panel would hand over an extra 400,000 scholarships this year.

The one-year grants, expected to be distributed in August, would help cushion economic hardship in the wake of rising costs of living and skyrocketing oil prices, he said.

Meanwhile, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak ordered the speeding up of disbursement of 30-billion-baht funds to boost local economy. Guidelines have been laid down to ensure the money go to people at the grassroots level.

Reports said that the disbursement was part of a four-point plan to sustain the economy during the caretaker administration when a limit on the implementation of economic projects was expected to affect growth.

Source: Xinhua