Srinagar, June 25: National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday called for an all-out war against the burgeoning menace of substance abuse in Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing party functionaries at Nawa-e-Subha here, Dr Farooq said, “Drug abuse in J&K is becoming a rampant phenomenon. It should be a point of concern for all of us. The first step towards stopping such incidents starts with contemplation by all of us. It goes without saying that the menace is an awful manifestation of widespread unemployment prevailing across J&K. It is time for the government to change the discourse around the drug addiction issue and start to view it as a disease rather than a law-and-order issue.”
The NC President said that for years now, Kashmir has been witnessing a new epidemic of drug addiction. He said this has spurred deep concern in Kashmiri society. “The figures emanating from various government agencies call for an all-out war in curbing the rise of substance abuse. The survey carried out by various agencies reveals the severity of the problem. Merely working on reigning in the narcotics mafia will not help win the war. Unless the government makes a massive outreach to our youth, this war on drug abuse cannot be won,” he said.
Dr Abdullah observed that in the wake of the scathing unemployment and fast-diminishing avenues, youth are taking to drug addiction and substance use. “The crisis is majorly factored by the policy paralysis of the government and the unconcerned attitude of the society. We cannot wait for the government to come to the rescue of our youth. We as a society have to unite our efforts to provide hope to our youth,” he added.
Ruing the incapacity of the administration in providing behavioural counselling, medication to treat drug addicts and providing treatment not just for substance use but also for many factors that accompany addiction, he observed that the dearth of de-addiction centers, absence of follow-ups have further aggravated the depressing scenario.
