Srinagar, June 12: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president and Member of the Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah on Monday said that smartphone misuse and drug addiction/substance abuse is emerging as a big threat to youth.
He said this while addressing the people in the Magam area of north Kashmir where he had gone to express condolence with the party leader Mohammad Ibrahim on the demise of his brother.
Expressing concern over the huge rise in drug addiction cases among the youth, 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 about the drug addiction issue and start to view it as a disease rather than a law-and-order issue.”
“For years now, Kashmir is witnessing a new epidemic—drug addiction. This has spurred deep concern in Kashmiri society. The figures emanating from various government agencies also call the efforts of the government in curbing the rise of drug abuse to question. The survey carried out by various agencies reveals the severity of the problem. Merely working on reining in the narcotics mafia won’t help win the war against the problem, unless the government makes a massive outreach to our youth, this war on drug abuse cannot be won,” he said.
The NC president added, “Our youth are fighting insecurity, unemployment and democratic disenfranchisement all at the same time. There is a great need to infuse a sense of security in our youth. However, putting the entire job of fighting the problems on the shoulders of law enforcement agencies alone won’t help. The battle against the menace has to be fought at multiple levels.”
He also expressed concern over the problematic use of smartphones in youth saying the amount of time children and teens spend using their devices has become an issue of growing concern. “We as a society have to consider whether screen time is having a detrimental impact on other activities of children like sports, academics,” he said.
