For far too long, Jammu and Kashmir has been losing a silent but devastating war. The drug menace, which has steadily tightened its grip across the Union Territory, has claimed countless young lives, shattered families and corroded the social fabric of communities from the Kashmir Valley to the Jammu plains. Month after month, the situation worsened, and for a considerable period, the response remained woefully inadequate against the scale of the crisis. That the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh had to intervene and seek an action-taken report from the Government speaks volumes about how dire the situation had become. Courts do not step in unless institutional mechanisms have demonstrably failed. It was a wake-up call that could not be ignored.
To the administration’s credit, the response this time appears resolute. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has personally taken charge of the campaign, and the urgency emanating from the top has translated into visible action on the ground. The orders have been unambiguous – dismantle the entire drug syndicate and spare no one. The Jammu and Kashmir Police have responded with commendable vigour. Properties of notorious drug peddlers and syndicates worth over Rs 75 crore have been seized or demolished. The message to those who trade in poison could not be clearer: the law will catch up with you, and the consequences will be severe. Crucially, modern technology is now being pressed into service. Drones, GPS tracking, CCTV networks, and advanced data analytics platforms such as NIDAAN and NATGRID are being deployed to map supply chains, identify kingpins and choke cross-border trafficking routes. There is, quite literally, nowhere left to hide.
Equally encouraging is the parallel emphasis on de-addiction and rehabilitation. J&K is the first Union Territory to establish its own drug de-addiction centres, with 36 facilities now operational. Addressing deaddiction is as vital as disrupting supply, and this twin-track approach reflects mature policymaking. Yet this is precisely the moment to guard against complacency. The drug networks are resilient, adaptive and deeply entrenched. Celebrating prematurely would be a grave error. The drug menace is too deeply rooted. The momentum achieved must not only be sustained but intensified. Every last link in the supply chain must be hunted down and dismantled. The foundations of a serious, sustained campaign are now in place. What J&K needs is the will to see it through – without pause, without compromise.
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