Change strategy on war footing

Isn’t it strange that despite a number of steps taken by the government in recent times, the drug addiction in J&K has reportedly escalated sharply, with addiction levels nearly tripling over the past three and a half years?

The figures about the addiction levels have been shared by none other than the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir himself. He shared this crucial information with reporters on the sidelines of a drug de-addiction awareness programme at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) at Srinagar. He has particularly highlighted that the tendency of heroin consumption has increased among the youth.

Going by the statement given by the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir about three-fold increase in drug addiction level, the first thing which should strike the minds of the stakeholders is that the efforts that have been taken by the government to contain the drug menace have remained unproductive or one can say counterproductive as the issue has snowballed rather than being curbed making it necessary that the entire strategy over the matter should be changed altogether to achieve the desired results and ensure that J&K becomes free from the menace of drugs and substance abuse. What the Divisional Commissioner has admitted publicly clearly shows that the measures taken in the direction to curb substance abuse have proven futile and there is emergent need to revisit the policy to tackle drug menace in J&K. The aforesaid statement by a person sitting on a coveted position is a stern warning that everything is not right in J&K as far as combat against drugs is concerned.

There is a need to focus on prevention and educating the society in a way that people especially the young lot should refrain from indulging in substance abuse as the scourge of drug menace has the potential to eat up the vitals of society by way of ruining lives and usurping the health and wealth of the people disproportionately. The data shared by the Divisional Commissioner indicated a steep rise in substance abuse, particularly heroin consumption, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated action to curb the growing menace.

For sure, the challenge is gigantic and cannot be addressed by the Government alone therefore a sustained societal support is required for combating drug abuse and bailing out those who have fallen prey to this menace and are struggling to fight back. One can say that it is not the time for the dispensation to take credit for half-done job rather it is imperative for the people at helm to stay focused and leave no stone unturned to eradicate drug menace from J&K or else days are not far when the region will be addressed as ‘Udta J&K’, akin to the situation in Punjab a few years ago.