The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is gripped with narco-terrorism as the international drug mafia is smuggling drugs through the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) to sell a small portion in this region and remaining consignment in the neighbouring Punjab.
J&K Police has launched operation 'Sanjeevani' to snap the supply chain of the drug mafia but the supply of drugs is going unabated due to the strong network of the suppliers.
Wishing anonymity, senior police said that there was a strong nexus between drug peddlers of J&K and other parts of the country. Furthermore, the major portion of the narcotics recovered by J&K during the last couple of years was not produced in the UT.
The drug business is part of narco-terrorism, which has gripped almost all parts of the state and a large number of youths are falling prey to it.
4.6 percent population is affected by drug-related issues
During the maiden meeting of the state-level committee of the narco coordination centre held on Friday under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar it was informed that as per a consumption survey, Jammu and Kashmir has 6 lakh people affected by drug-related issues which are approximately 4.6% population of the Union territory of which 90% users are from 17-33 age group.
It was informed that Jammu and Kashmir is situated in close vicinity to the golden crescent which produces 80 percent of the world's opium and is considered as the prime source of the illicit drug trade.
The meeting outlined broad project contours for tackling the drug menace in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
CS directs to compile data of poppy, cannabis production in J&K
The Chief Secretary underscored the need of compiling data on the production of poppy and cannabis in Jammu and Kashmir as well as cross-border transportation to assess the presence of these drugs and their synthetic derivatives in J&K.
For curbing the illicit cultivation of poppy, Dr. Mehta directed the Anti-Narcotics Tasks Force (ANTF) in convergence with the Excise and Agriculture departments; to map the expected cultivation areas and take remedial actions for the destruction of the illegal crop, both on private and government lands. The ANTF was further asked to formulate an action plan to prevent such cultivation in the next season.
Observing that drug menace in terms of usage and addiction has significantly gone up in Jammu and Kashmir during recent years, the Chief Secretary directed the concerned to enhance the conviction rate in narco-related cases while simultaneously focusing on proper counselling and rehabilitation of drug-affected youth.
NGO concerns over non-availability of data
"This is not simple drug smuggling, it is narco-terrorism, which is more dangerous than other kinds of terror and we should not take it simply as a menace. It is a great threat, which can completely devastate our younger generation," said Zorawar Singh Jamwal, Chairman, Team Jammu, a group that is spearheading a war against narco-terrorism.
Jamwal regretted that there was no data available with the police about deaths due to drug addictions in J&K.
Although the drug mafia was active in the Jammu region for the last so many years, authorities awake from deep slumber only after the death of a teenage girl Divya Manhas in October 2014.
