Nasha Mukt Jammu Kashmir Abhiyaan: LG calls for collective societal action to curb drug menace

Sinha has launched a 100-day intensive anti-drug campaign under on April 11 from Jammu and a rally under this was also held in Kathua on April 13

Intensifying the crusade against drug menace, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor (LG) Sinha on Wednesday highlighted society’s role in fight against drug menace and called for collective action during a ‘padyatra’ in Ramban,

Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha. (File)

“If the neighbour’s house is on fire, yours is not safe. Drugs don’t spread like flames but they spread like wind. That’s why a ‘Whole of Society’ response is our only real and potent weapon against the drug menace,” the LG said while addressing the public during the Drug-Free Jammu Kashmir campaign, from the district police line to the district administrative complex, in Ramban.

Sinha has launched a 100-day intensive anti-drug campaign under on April 11 from Jammu and a rally under this was also held in Kathua on April 13.

“Drug abuse isn’t just a law and order issue but a social cancer requiring every part of society to fight. I urged for ‘whole of government’ and ‘whole of society’ approach. I believe when the government’s strength and society’s resolve act as one, then even the toughest challenges crumble,” the LG said.

“We will map every hotspot. And I promise you: we will hit each one like a surgical strike. Not a single smuggler will be spared. The entire network will be dismantled,” he said.

He called upon every Panchayat and Ward to form women’s vigilance committees. “Women are the frontline of this war. You know where the household money goes. If anyone in the family showing symptom of addiction, don’t hide it. Don’t call him a criminal. Call him a patient. But that patient needs society’s help, not just four walls,” LG said.

“Channel your energy into sports fields, art, and in study. In schools and colleges, we will make drugs a symbol of cowardice, not cool. Treatment, identification, and rehabilitation will be our priority,” he said.

Such an important step: Lone applauds initiative

Peoples Conference (PC) chief and Handwara legislator Sajad Gani Lone on Wednesday extended his strong support to the Nasha Mukth Abhiyan, calling it “such an important step” while warning that the drug menace has emerged as the most vicious threat confronting Kashmiri society today.

Lone, who previously served as social welfare minister, drew on his direct experience in office to underscore the gravity of the crisis. “I have been a SOCIAL WELFARE minister in the past. And it was scary,” he said. “I remember, the scourge of drugs was dangerously creeping in and we as government were totally unprepared.”

Thanking LG Manoj Sinha for initiating the campaign, he issued an unsparing assessment of the challenge ahead. “There is so much that needs to be done,” he said, stressing that the problem had long outpaced the state’s response.