‘Stay Away from Peddling, It’ll Ruin Your Career’- Police Commissioner of Mangaluru Vikas Kumar tells during ‘Rowdy Parade’ held in Commissionerate premises on Monday, 7 September. Out of the nearly 100 peddlers assembled during this Rowdy Parade, around 7-8 were students, either caught for peddling or consuming narcotics. The purpose of this Parade is to control Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 issues, warn the peddlers to stop their illegal drugs sale and warn them of stringent action if they are caught.
Mangaluru: Dum Maaro Dum! Kudla is becoming a haven for Ganja addicted youth, along with that many students are involved in peddling, apart from the drug mafia. Yes, Mangaluru and DK has been making headlines lately with news of drug trafficking and also teens/young adults/women getting addicted to alcohol and substance abuse. It is learnt that teenagers, women are getting hooked to alcohol and substance abuse in Mangaluru and Manipal/Udupi-the education hubs of Dakshina Kannada, and doctors attribute it to easy availability of dope, peer pressure, or depression. Even though the cops are cracking down on drug dealers, the trade is still going on.
It is learnt that the city has recorded a marked increase in incidents of ganja peddling, bringing to fore a disturbing trend that indicates a spike in the youth falling prey to the drug. Police say every time they crack down on ganja peddlers new gangs surface which smuggle the contraband primarily from neighbouring states, especially Goa, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. The data suggested that abuse of ganja has been on the rise in the city particularly among the youths. Ganja peddlers target college students as buyers as well as their agents also. While most of the peddlers are habitual offenders with criminal records, some of them are first time offenders who were drawn into the illegal trade as customers. Although police have also tightened their vigil in the wake of detection of ganja cultivation in the city outskirts, many say that even some of the cops also play a vital role by associating with the peddlers.
Although there had been a couple of meetings between De-addiction and Counseling Centres with the district administrative officials to discuss the increase of youngsters falling to narcotic and psychotropic drugs in the past, drug addiction among the youth is still continuing in this Coastal town. In dealing and to curb with the substance abuse, society has to play a big role-because it is very hard for the police to control the drug menace on its own. Yes, it’s sad to note that the substance abuse among teenagers/young adults is growing in Mangaluru, with smoking, trying out ganja…injecting or inhaling drugs etc etc-most of these are available illegally at shops selling cigarettes, paan shops, hostels or through agents. The other problem is that the parents are unaware that their children are addicted to substance abuse as they use a lot of masking behaviour.
In order to bring this drug dealing under control, the newly appointed Police Commissioner of Mangaluru Vikas Kumar carried out a “ROWDY PARADE” on Monday, 7 September on Commissionerate premises, where nearly 100 persons engaged in drug trafficking/peddling and also those caught red-handed for consumption of drugs/ganja in and around Mangaluru were made to assemble, and a strong message was given to them by the Police Commissioner. It is learnt that such ‘Rowdy Parade’ are held in Cities, which are involved in numerous cases of communal violence, assaults, and drug menace. The purpose of this Parade is to control Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 issues, warn the peddlers to stop their illegal drugs sale and warn them of stringent action if they are caught.
Speaking during the ‘Rowdy Parade’, the Police Commissioner said “This is our war against drugs where it has affected the youth severely, and the drug menace is on the rise. It is the need of the hour that we should bring awareness on this issue, and try to stop the youth getting addicted to drugs, through various programmes and counselling. I want to send a strong message that those caught dealing in drugs and also with repeated offences, we will take stringent action and punish them severely. Goonda Act will be invoked against them or even exiled from the area, if at all necessary. Through reliable information we have learnt that drugs are being supplied from Kerala, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and few other places. There could be drugs smuggled from abroad too, and we are keeping a close watch on it, where in the last two months, there have been ten cases of ganja smuggling. This is our continuous war against drugs, and our efforts to see that youngsters don’t fall prey to addiction of drugs, and try to stop them from drug dealing or consumption”
Surprisingly, out of the nearly 100 peddlers assembled in the Rowdy Parade, nearly seven to eight were students, studying in the City colleges. Police Commissioner addressing these students said that he wanted to send a strong message to students who have been indulging in drug trade and drug consumption, to stay away from it, since they will ruin their career if they continue further. “We are ready to help those drug addicts to return back to the mainstream, where we will provide them counselling, medical assistance and other preventive measures in controlling substance abuse. We also need support from the general public in order to eradicate drug abuse in this Educational Hub. Inform us if you see any illegal drug dealing or someone consuming drugs/ganja- your calls will be kept confidential. Let us join in making Mangaluru DRUG FREE!”
Yes, no doubt our Police Commissioner has played a vital role in this regard, citizens and members of various community organizations can also play an important role in stopping alcohol and substance abuse among teenagers and young adults-if you see anyone dealing with drugs/shops selling illegal smoking items or if you see someone whom you are sure is doing drugs, immediately inform the police or the concerned authorities. Anyone with information pertaining to drug trafficking or drug dealers immediately notify the law enforcement personal by dialing 100, so that the concerned authorities can take quick action and grab the drug mafias.We the citizens can join hands along with the law enforcement authorities in controlling the drug menace in the city, and thereby save some innocent lives from this deadly “disease”?
