Srinagar, June 13: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday expressed dismay over the LG administration’s “failure” to check the alarming rise of drug abuse cases in J&K.
Addressing an “extraordinary” session of the provincial committee meeting of the Kashmir province at the party headquarters here, Omar said the issue of drug abuse in Jammu and Kashmir has assumed alarming proportions that cannot be ignored anymore.
“It is a bitter reality that Jammu and Kashmir is rapidly outpacing other states in the country in terms of drug use but surprisingly the incumbent administration is treating the issue lightly. As far as we are concerned, there should be no room for non-seriousness towards tackling the rising cases of drug abuse,” he said.
The party in a statement said the agenda of the meeting was the ‘rising cases of drug abuse in the valley – what can be done to stop this dangerous trend’. During the meeting, the participants deliberated upon various dimensions related to the topic and gave a detailed estimation of the trend of drug abuse in their respective areas, the statement said, adding that the meeting was also marked by threadbare discussions on the party’s role in addressing the issue.
In his address, Omar Abdullah said, “Whatever we do is for future generations and whatever we earn and build in life, we do it with the intention of handing it over to our next generation. But if we continue to see our children destroyed by a scourge like drugs, then what is the purpose of our hard work? We are engaged in a political and constitutional struggle for the restoration of our rights. We will strengthen the infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, and we will develop and promote tourism, but the generation for which we are doing all this will not be able to thrive if the issue of drug abuse remains unaddressed.”
Describing the eradication of drug abuse as a collective struggle, the NC leader said the government has a lot of responsibility. “As a society, we also have a role to play, we cannot rely on the government alone. Drug rehabilitation centers, counselling centers, treatment and policing are the work of the government. But as a society we have to make people aware of it, to make the youth aware of the negative effects of drugs and to help the youth who are addicted to drugs. It is the responsibility of all of us to bring them back,” he said.
He added, “It is a pity that no one is ready to take responsibility; only allegations are being made that youth are being pushed into drug addiction under a conspiracy.”
He urged every person associated with the party to start their activities in every district, every constituency, every block and every constituency in the fight against drugs ensuring active participation and cooperation of the people.
On the occasion, it was unanimously decided that in the coming days, the party will release a white paper “identifying the scale of the problem, failures at the administrative level and the party’s vision for mitigating the issue”.
