The repeated seizure of cannabis and brown sugar in Odisha has been a cause of concern for the enforcement authorities in the state. The menace of drugs keeps getting bigger and more virulent despite raids and arrests by the special unit constituted by the state police to deal with it.
Now the government has taken another important step in this direction by constituting a task force to check drug trafficking and abuse. Led by former director general of police Abhay, an officer with years of experience behind him, the task force will formulate a state policy to fight the menace within the context of National Policy on Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 2012. There will also be a multi-departmental coordination committee headed by the Chief Secretary and co-chaired by the State Task Force’s Chairman.
The DGP, Odisha and Secretaries of Departments of Home, Health and Family Welfare, SSEPD, Excise, School and Mass Education, Higher Education, I&PR and IT will be members of the State Task Force. They will also be members of the multi-departmental committee chaired by Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra. The task force Chairman will have the authority to constitute smaller sub-committees to study any aspect in detail and make recommendations. The Chairman will also nominate and invite any other state and central government official or expert to any of the sub-committees and may seek cooperation from agencies of the United Nations System.
One of the focus areas for the task force while formulating an anti-drug policy should be raising awareness against drug abuse at the community level and ensuring increased participation of community members in making the drive against narcotics successful. There is also a need for focused intervention in vulnerable areas and the conduct of outreach programmes. Involvement of the NGO sector should be considered a must and efforts should be made at collection and evaluation of relevant data.
Community involvement has become extremely important in view of the fact that in most of the cases of recent drug seizures, the peddlers have been found to be operating in crowded slum localities, including those in the state capital. They have also been found to be involving women and children in a big way to carry out their nefarious activities. The traffickers, no doubt, take advantage of the poverty of people to pull them into the drug trade, using them as couriers. They have been using these tactics both for brown sugar and cannabis smuggling.
There is no bigger organized crime network in Odisha at the moment than the drug trade. Since it constitutes a threat to society at large and also puts our future generations at stake, the state must do everything within its powers to strike at its very roots. The sooner the better.
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