NEW DELHI, 26 Jun: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asserted that the central government will root out the menace of drugs from India and will not allow smuggling of narcotics through the country.
In a video message on the International Day against Drug Abuse, Shah said that the home ministry has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against narcotics and the results of this approach have started coming in.
“We have decided that we will not allow any kind of narcotics trade in India, nor will we allow any drugs to be smuggled through India,” Shah said, and added: “I fully believe that, with coordinated efforts, we will be successful in rooting out the menace of drugs and achieve our goal of a drugs-free India.
The war against drugs has been continuing, Shah said, and because of this coordinated action, narcotics worth Rs 22,000 crore were seized between 2014 and 2022. “This is 30 times higher than the drugs worth Rs 768 crore that was seized between 2006 and 2013,” he added.
He said that cases against drug peddlers have increased by 181 percent – from 1,257 cases between 2006 and 2013 to 3,544 between 2014 and 2022.
Besides, he said, six lakh kilograms of drugs have been destroyed in the country since June 2022.
“This reflects the government’s commitment for a drugs-free India,” Shah said.
The home minister said that success against the narcotics trade has been achieved primarily due to the the government’s “whole of government” approach, “under which policies are being framed with close coordination of different wings of the government.”
He said that all prominent organisations, especially the Narcotics Control Bureau, have been continuing their fight against drugs.
The home ministry, Shah said, with the help of all organisations and state governments concerned, has been trying its best for a drugs-free India but this war against narcotics cannot be won without people’s participation.
“To strengthen this campaign,” Shah said, “the ministry established the National Narcotics Coordination Portal in 2019 and the Anti Narcotics Task Force was formed in the police department of every state”.
He appealed to everyone in the country to stay away from drugs and “also keep their families away.”
“I appeal to everyone to take part in this fight against drugs. People should inform the security agencies of any information about any drugs trade anywhere,” he said. (PTI)
