Merely by holding symbolic seminars or by displaying a few hoardings on walls and delivering a few lectures once in a while in the year was not enough to identify and measure multi-faceted threatening proportions of the menace of drugs and narcotic substances engulfing almost entire Jammu and Kashmir. The need is to check and contain it effectively from getting deep rooted, especially among the youth, the strength of the nation, to an extent that it leads to creation of severe psychological disorders and physical dependence in them and as a natural corollary, addiction becomes rampant. Let us not miss the bus and resort to panicky solutions and actions of the last resort later, like opening more de-addiction centers but take effective rather ruthless deterrent actions to preempt chances of turning drug addiction into a catastrophe and nothing short of an epidemic. These are, by no means, any doomsayers’ words but real fears based on how drug trafficking is fast spreading its tentacles across the State.
While we appreciate the efforts of Jammu and Kashmir Police in detecting and apprehending periodically a few criminals and smugglers engaged in this perilous trade, the latest one being on Aug 6 when 51 kilograms of heroin worth over Rs. 250 crore was seized in Jammu from a truck of Punjab considered the biggest ever catch in Jammu region. At the same time, looking to the enormity and the extent of this well organized commerce of selling slow but effective poison, the preventive actions being taken presently, amount just to the proverbial, a drop in the bucket. The drugs are in the form of poppy straw or bhukki, heroin, opium, cocaine etc.
We have to understand the entire gamut of this detestable but deleteriously oriented design of those elements from across the border and their agents within the State, who are bent upon inflicting a severe blow to the most productive and important section of our society , the youth, the most powerful human resources of this State and the country, who by becoming important apparatus in building the State and the nation are enslaved by drug use and crippled to go nowhere beyond that. A worrisome situation by all means, which calls for invoking the cogent contribution from all sections of the society in fighting this most dangerous problem next only to terrorism in its devastating effect and not only chiefly by the Police and the judiciary alone.
Are we very intensely guarding and subjecting to effective scrutiny, the merchandise traded in cross-LoC trade as numerous instances of smuggling of narcotics and psychotropic substances at entry points have reportedly taken place? Are these sought to be prevented by employing all possible means? If not, it won’t be any exaggeration or overstatement of a fact that to save our youth and others from the imminent disaster in their personal, family and social life, it is better to close this cross-LoC trade and let politics and political considerations not ignore the hazards and threats to the general health and social life of our people rapidly falling prey to drug abuse.
The drugs and narcotic substances are clandestinely reaching Jammu via well coordinated routes, from across the border and border districts, the neighbouring States and in many instances, from Kashmir valley itself. It not only plays havoc with the health and life of its victims but is one of the sources of terror financing as well. It has other diabolical designs to incapacitate the real human strength and power of the State which otherwise, in the ordinary course, would be of immense value to and in service of the society and the country.
We urge the Government and its various agencies to step up taking of drastic actions and aggressively too, against the “flourishing” drug trafficking, roping in even non Governmental agencies in this noble cause. It should announce incentives and motivating rewards to informers who furnish pointed information to police and other designated agencies about the movement, trading, hoarding, transporting and selling even in small quantities etc of drugs and narcotic substances. Strict vigil around colleges and other educational institutions, etc would also check the emboldened spirits of drug traffickers. Intensive awareness through media, debates, distribution of literature, hoardings on important points etc should continue to be the other form of fighting this menace.
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