War on drugs: On average, two peddlers arrested per day since Ramadan began in Kashmir

Srinagar:  On average, police have arrested at least two drug peddlers per day since Ramadan began in Kashmir.

Data accessed by The Kashmir Monitor revealed that 33 drug peddlers have been arrested by police in the last 16 days.

The majority of the drug peddlers arrested during the last two weeks are from Kupwara (8). A large quantity of banned drugs and narcotics were recovered from their possession.

In Baramulla and Anantnag, police arrested 6 drug peddlers each, while five were arrested in Pulwama.

Police have arrested three peddlers in Bandipora. Two peddlers were arrested in Budgam, while one was held in Ganderbal.

Data suggests that mostly the peddlers have been arrested with heroin and cannabis.

According to the figures compiled by the drug de-addiction center of Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar, a record 340 percent jump has been witnessed in drug abuse, particularly heroin in Kashmir.

In 2019, over 3850 IV Heroin abuse cases were recorded while the number rose to 13200 in 2021.

The enormous drug abuse in Kashmir as per the police has led to other problems, particularly thefts.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar, Rakesh Balwal told The Kashmir Monitor that 90 percent of the burglars are linked to drug abuse.

“They (drug addicts)commit robberies in shops, residential houses, and other places. We have busted many such modules and found that they are chronic drug abusers. They commit thefts once they are short of money for drugs,” he said.

To control drug addiction, police recently started ‘Mission Wapsi’, a programme aimed at weaning away youth from drug addiction.

An alarmed J&K administration will also be surveying all 20 districts to gauge the severity of the problem. The survey will be conducted by the Directorate of Social Welfare (DSW), Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Srinagar, Government Medical College in Srinagar and Jammu, and the health department, and completed within a month.