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Admn roping in Imams to fight drug menace in Kashmir
Dozens of Imams were sensitised against drug menace in Kashmir at a training programme organised by Civil Society Forum Kashmir in collaboration with Crime Branch of Police, Auqaf and Youth Development and Rehabilitation Centre (YDRC) at Government Polytechnic College in Srinagar.
Owing to the growing menace of drug addiction in Kashmir valley, the authorities and civil society are roping in Imams (those who lead prayers in mosques) to fight against drug abuse in the valley.
Dozens of Imams were sensitised against drug menace in Kashmir at a training programme organised by Civil Society Forum Kashmir in collaboration with Crime Branch of Police, Auqaf and Youth Development and Rehabilitation Centre (YDRC) at Government Polytechnic College in Srinagar.
Dr Muzaffar Khan, head of YDRC which is the largest drug de-addiction centre in Srinagar run by police, said the programme aimed at taking the fight against drug abuse outside of de-addiction centres.
“The initiative aims at taking this movement against drug de-addiction outside the centres into society and connect it with Imams and mothers,” said Khan, who is a clinical psychologist.
Some 40 Imams and other members of the society took part in the awareness programme.
Khan, who informed that they would attempt to continue such programmes, said that the position of Imams in society makes them central in raising awareness among the families.
“The Imams are an important part of our society and no one among us matches their status in the community or home. There is acceptance of their word in the community. That is why all the Imams in Srinagar or in rural areas need to be empowered and trained to understand drug addiction and how it is identified. And they also need to be told what advice they would give to those mothers and parents whose homes have been affected by drug abuse,” he said.
Officials say that drug abuse among youth has reached alarming proportions in Jammu and Kashmir owing to the inflow of drugs from Line of Control and states like Punjab.
Earlier this year, the ministry of social justice and empowerment, quoting one of their surveys of previous year, informed Lok Sabha in response to a question that there are nearly 10 lakh drug addicts in Jammu and Kashmir. The ministry stated that estimated 1,08,000 males and 36,000 females were found using cannabis in Jammu and Kashmir while as 5,34,000 males and 8,000 females were found using opioids and 1,60,000 males and 8,000 females were found using sedatives of different kinds
Khan said that women face the most when any youth takes to drugs in a family. “It has been seen that if we empower them, help them identify drug addicts in their homes and how to find people at an early stage of addiction- that will help a lot,” he said.
He said that taking the movement outside the de-addiction centres and connecting it with people will help vulnerable youth from falling prey to the drug menace. “There are youth who are not involved in this, but they are vulnerable, and they need to be saved. They can be saved by these programmes,” he said.
He added that more such programmes were needed. “For the past two years, we have been organising awareness programmes in colleges and schools. But there is a need to increase these awareness programmes in number and every section of society has to come forward - education, health or religious sector,” he said.
