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Assam government launches ‘war on drugs’ to free state from menace
Assam police DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta informed that a special recommendation has been processed for the team involved in the operation as well as a reward for the Kamrup (Rural) district police.
Two kilograms of drugs named brown sugar valued at ₹2 crore in the international market and nearly 100,000 illegal tablets valued at around ₹1.5 crore were recovered from two women on Saturday in a joint operation by Assam and Meghalaya police on the outskirts of Guwahati, officials said.
“Police has caused a huge dent in the drugs network today. Now the organised cartel is under attack,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted soon after congratulating the team.
Assam police DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta informed that a special recommendation has been processed for the team involved in the operation as well as a reward for the Kamrup (Rural) district police.
Though it was one of the biggest drug hauls in recent weeks, it isn’t the only such operation Assam police is involved in at present. Every day, police teams across the state are busting drug cartels, arresting traffickers and recovering contraband and cash, officials said.
Though the drive against drugs has been part of the routine police operations, the campaign picked momentum last month after the new government under Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio, took charge as the chief minister.
Between May 10, when the new government assumed office, and June 4, police across Assam registered 342 cases and arrested 596 people in connection to drugs. Over 10 kilograms of heroin, nearly 6,000 kilograms of marijuana, over 200,000 illegal tablets and around ₹20 lakh in cash have been recovered in this period.
As per police records, there has been a big jump in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases in the past 10 years in the state. From 180 cases in 2010, the police registered 1,023 cases last year.
“We will continue our operations against drugs continuously. Many families have been destroyed because of it, so we are taking this action as our responsibility. I am of the firm belief if our police act actively, Assam would be able to get rid of this menace,” Sarma said in Delhi last week.
According to the police, Guwahati is the prime transit point in the region for drugs that enter India from Myanmar through the International Border (IB) along with Manipur and Mizoram. The drugs smuggled into the region include heroin, brown sugar, marijuana, cough syrups and methamphetamine tablets.
“Drug addiction has increased immensely in Assam in recent years. Earlier, the drugs used to get transported via the state but now it is getting sold within Assam by a huge network of traffickers. Easy availability has led to more people getting addicted, especially young teenagers,” said Deepak Sahaney, project director Kripa Foundation, a drug rehabilitation centre in Guwahati.
Started 16 years ago, Kripa Foundation is one of the oldest rehabilitation centres in Guwahati and has treated over 3,000 patients. At present, Assam’s biggest city has around 50 such centres.
“The menace has spread from urban to rural areas now. Even small towns in Assam have drug rehabilitation centres. Mobile phones and social media platforms are aiding traffickers to get connected with users. We have had cases wherein children have assaulted parents for money to buy drugs or resorted to petty crimes like snatching,” said Sahaney.
Significantly, there has been no study done by the government or private agencies on the spread of the drug menace in Assam and no data is available on the number of drug users, their profile, et cetera.
“The number of users has progressively increased and most of the new users are teenagers. Addiction starts due to various reasons, including a family history of drug abuse, domestic troubles, financial problems, among others,” said Dr Tridip Choudhury, a Guwahati-based psychiatrist involved in drug rehabilitation.
“The problem has to be dealt with in two ways-supply reduction, like action being taken by the police and demand reduction, which is done by professionals to bring down the number of users. Better infrastructure and more manpower are needed to ensure demand reduction as well in Assam,” he added.
