The revelation in Lok Sabha on the data of druggists in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory is mind boggling. As per official data from LS our UT has earned the distinction of 10 lakh drug addicts which is a conservative estimation. However, the way these days the drug addiction has become a fashion among the citizens especially the youth of Kashmir as well as Jammu, the rough estimate is pegged at 15 lakh as still large number of families owing to social stigma eschew reporting their kith and kin who are in the dragnet of narcotics. Considering that the current population of J&K UT is 1.56 crore then its 15 % populace is categorized as druggists. This is a very alarming situation.
This startling data clearly reflects that our hostile neighbouring countries are inching towards achieving their nefarious designs by destabilizing the hearts and minds of our youth through well knit drug terrorism. Even, the tentacles of this dangerous malaise has strengthened its roots even among the female folk in J&K which once used to be considered as heaven on earth. This ever growing menace of drug addiction is a breeding ground for several criminal and anti social activities ranging from prostitution, burgalaries, gambling which are detrimental for the holistic growth and prosperity of our UT which is all set to earn the sobriquet of ‘Udata J&K’.
This multiplying data of druggists is a dangerous graph which puts so many uncomfortable questions on the stragety of our cops who have miserably failed to take headon drug cartels. Merely flashing puny recoveries of narcotics in grams is not going to paint them in rainbow colors as their actions are incommensurate with the quantum of drug consumption. This is no more a secret that managers of narcotics are still at large and conveniently engaged in peddling of drug consignments in nooks and crannies of J&K. This shows that something is seriously afflicting our policing which is more concerned about reshuffling of a select lot of SHOs from one police station to other within districts for a long period of time until these blue eyed inspectors promoted as DySPs.
The top brass in police need to devise ways and means to decode the modus operandi of drug cartel one the one hand and periodically review the efficiency of SHOs through performance management system (PMS). Even, the government must verify the details of properties and assests of all SHOs from the day they joined government service. It is a patent fact that every SHO of concerned area is fully abrast with happenings in his jurisdiction and thus if someone is promoting sale and purchase of drugs besides other criminal acts with impunity then the said officer must be made to eat a humble pie. In the same breath, the government must set up drug deaddicion centres but the priority must be on screening of SHOs so as to precisely identify, scrutinize and eliminate the lords of substance.
Prevention is better than cure and in tackling the herculean drug menace -the police shall have to fortify its security grid. Sooner the better ! Last but not the least, our judicial system also need to activate itself to take suomotto cognizance of ever increasing drug trafficking in our society.