Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 14: Expressing serious concern over growing incidents of crime committed by drug addicted youth, Team Jammu today regretted that Advisory Committees constituted by the State Government to eradicate this menace have failed to take any step in this regard.
Pointing towards gruesome murder of an elderly couple by a drug addict at Kathua on Saturday, Chairman of Team Jammu Zorawar Singh Jamwal regretted that except holding photo secessions and seminars in the air-conditioned rooms, nothing concrete has been done at the ground level to liberate the youth from the yoke of this menace.
“What concrete efforts have been taken by the Drug De-addiction Monitoring Committees constituted by the State Government?” asked Zorawar Singh and rued that except media coverage nothing has been done so far.
It may be recalled that in the month of March this year, State Government had constituted State Level Policy Implementation Monitoring Committee and Divisional Level De-addiction Centre Monitoring Committee for Jammu and Kashmir Division, respectively under Drug De-addiction Policy.
Administrative Secretary, School Education Department, Administrative Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Administrative Secretary, Youth Services & Sports Department, Administrative Secretary, Department of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Director, SKIMS, Soura, Srinagar, Inspector General of Police, Crime Branch, J&K, Excise Commissioner, J&K, have been appointed as members. Principals of Government Medical College, Jammu and Srinagar have been appointed as member secretary for alternative every two years.
HoD, Department of Psychiatry, (IMHANS), and GMC Srinagar and HoD, Department of Psychiatry, GMC Jammu have been appointed as technical members.
“We were hoping that these committees would work at the grass root level to create public opinion against drug addictions but during the last four months it has been observed that these panels are only paper tigers”, Zorawar Singh said and lamented that menace of drug addiction is spreading in every nook and corner of J&K but authorities are still in deep slumber.
Seeking support of the civil society to eradicate menace of drug abuse, Zorawar said that cooperation of every section of the society is must to liberate our younger generation from the yoke of drug addiction.
“We have to accept this reality that drugs are slowly tightening grip on the youth of the State. It is high time to start a deciding war against this menace”, he said.