NC committed to fight drug menace in JK: Dr Farooq

Srinagar, Jun 26: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President and Member Parliament from Srinagar Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah Monday said that the burgeoning menace of drug addiction in J&K was dangerous and that the fight against drug abuse should not be relinquished at any cost.
On International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the duo said that substance abuse and drug addiction had emerged as one of the biggest threats to our future generation.
“Unfortunately Jammu and Kashmir continues to grapple with the menace of drug and substance abuse. Reports about the prevalence of drug abuse among youngsters, particularly the school going children in Kashmir is alarming. If something substantial is not done to tackle it, then we are going to lose a whole new generation to this menace,” they said.
“Failing to act against the drug mafia and identifying the spots where these addicts huddle up; administration has also miserably failed to come up with more de-addiction centers, counselling centers to help control such delinquency. Absence of proper psychiatric and medical treatment is also compounding the menace. Administration on its part has failed to grapple with the issue primarily because of the absence of any policy framework and required budgetary support. It is a continuous fight, and there is no scope for slackness for the consequences of it will be hard to contain.”
They said the need of the hour was for a flagship programme to curb the menace by preventing the sale and purchase of illicit and other harmful drugs, identifying addicts and putting them on the path of recovery.
The duo stressed for augmenting the intake capacity of drug de-addiction centers. “Such centers should come up in all districts. Good policing is also needed to block the spaces where such illicit activity takes place,” they said.
They said that being the premier political party of the region, NC cannot wait for the government to act. Our party has already constituted an 12-member committee to address the pressing issue of substance abuse in Jammu and Kashmir. The committee will soon submit its report on the way forward in tackling rising cases of drug abuse in J&K, they added.