Monday Musing
[ Amar Sangno ]
The recent arrest of a government official from the civil secretariat in Itanagar reveals that the drug menace has infiltrated the state’s highest administrative headquarters.
Every day, the state’s dailies and digital platforms are flooded with press releases about seizure of drugs and drug peddler gangs being busted from different corners of the state by the police. This development testifies to the alarming rate at which the drug menace is permeating our daily lives and social fabric, reflecting a grim state of affairs.
As per Home Department data, ever since ‘Operation Dawn’ was launched on 8 November, 2023, it has marked a significant milestone in the mission against drugs in the state. The operation has resulted in 354 registered cases, 534 arrests, and the seizure of 9,557 kgs of narcotic substances, with an estimated market value of Rs 38 crore.
Statistics further tell that since 2019, continued police efforts have led to the registration of 1,452 cases and the arrest of 2,619 individuals. Law enforcement agencies have seized a total of 18,600 kgs of psychotropic substances, valued at Rs 75 crore. Additionally, authorities have destroyed 56,654.69 acres of illicit poppy plantations and eradicated 1,723.271 acres of cannabis cultivation.
Is everyone in the state using drugs in one way or another? If so, who is responsible?
Gumin Mize, president of the Arunachal Pradesh Anti-Drug Warriors, who has been working extensively against the drug menace in Pasighat region for the last four years, squarely blamed the government and the state authorities over drug flow and supply in the state.
“The authorities are in hand-in-glove with drug peddlers, as these drugs are mostly made in China and smuggled through the Myanmar border. Why can’t the Army and the police check the drug flow?” Mize questioned.
Mize claimed that contraband substances have a huge economy involving many millionaires. “They smuggle drugs from Myanmar, stock them in Guwahati, and supply them across the Northeast states,” Mize said. “If the government wants to control it, it can easily be done,” he reiterated.
Given the scale of drug seizures made every day from peddlers and consumers, it can be fairly estimated that a substantial portion of the poor or middle-class population, including police personnel and government officials, depend on the drug economy. For them, drug trafficking is a source of easy money. Who can afford to resist the temptation of easy money in a state like Arunachal Pradesh, where the cost of living is considerably higher than the average national per capita income?
Naharlagun Superintendent of Police Mihin Gambo opined that other factors that contribute to the rising drug menace are lack of parental care, peer influence, and availability of drugs.
SP Gambo also shared the predicaments and challenges that bog down the police department in tackling the drug menace. He disclosed that inadequate human resource, lack of a dedicated police force for NDPS cases, and the occasional unavailability of gazetted officers for seizure witnesses – a mandatory requirement under the NDPS Act – hinder their efforts. Additionally, public unwillingness to become witnesses in such cases further complicates the issue.
“Lack of technology to detect and scan body and vehicle at check gates; case overload at the forensic science lab, which causes delay in furnishing of reports on time; slowness in the trial process due to case overload, which in turn results in low rate of conviction, are the day-to-day challenges,” he added.
Other fundamental challenges are the porous border with neighbouring states, which facilitates easy movement of drug traffickers without detection. There is also difficulty in post-arrest management of traffickers and addicts – most of the drug traffickers are also addicted persons – during withdrawal symptoms at police stations and hospitals due to inadequate facility to handle such situation.
Though the state government has constituted Arunachal Pradesh Drug De-Addiction Society and announced to establish five drug de-addiction centres and proposed to establish a well-equipped de-addiction and rehabilitation centre in the Itanagar region for long-term treatment and rehabilitation, the drug menace in Arunachal has already assumed a giant shape.
The establishment of multiple drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centres is not a permanent remedy. All stakeholders, including community leaders, non-governmental organisations, student leaders, religious institutions, and law enforcement, need to work collectively to defeat the menace from taking over the state.
The police authorities have launched a blitzkrieg against drugs, yet have failed to contain its spread.
Isn’t this enough to wake the state’s collective conscience?
