In a recent seminar against drug abuse, speakers opine that it is killing more on a larger scale and in complete cold-blooded manner. 

North East News Agency

THANKS to A Khalique, secretary, A Jalin school Manipur for showing tremendous courage to speak the truth. Speaking at the open discussion on prevention of drug trafficking and abuse, organized by All Manipur Anti-drug Association (AMADA) Mr. Khalique bravely questioned: “When the security forces kill one person the whole of Manipur agitates but why are the people keeping quiet when so many  people are being killed everyday   by drug sellers?” He went on to add that while the Indian security  forces kill only a limited number of people, drug is killing more on a larger scale and in complete cold-blooded manner.

Thus he provided a food for thought not only for the people of Manipur, but also for those states where the abuse rate is higher than normal and prone to underground activities. According to Mr. Khalique the best possible way to control the menace is to stop the source from which drugs are coming instead of controlling the drug users.

The remedy prescribed by Mr. Khalique may sound simple but the task is not all that easy. Drug cartels are powerful and at the same time innovative enough to give a slip to law. Moreover, unscrupulous elements within the society have always made the task harder.

In this context the observations made N Bobo Meetei, a former drug user and presently working as a member of AMADA, should be seriously. In the same seminar he said that “It takes only a week to become an addict but even five years is not enough to get over drug addiction.” He very rightly stated that drug problem is a social problem, which affects the financial well being of the whole State.

Thus to check the menace, a two-pronged strategy is necessary. Firstly, as suggested by Mr. Khalique and others, the source from which drugs are coming should be identified and destroyed. Secondly, the causes which lures the youths towards drug should be addressed on a war footing. In the words of Bobo Meitei an average Manipuri has to face the problems of insurgency, corruption, drug and disease. The society will have to ensure that a youth remain free from all such hassles so that he doesn’t become an easy prey of this menace.

Meanwhile, the latest report of National AIDS Control Society (NACO) estimated a total of over 5.2 billion HIV cases in the country. . Nagaland is second in the list –the HIV prevalence rate here has increased to 1.63% from 1.43% in 2004, while Andhra Pradesh is at the top.  

The NACO report also took note of Mizoram (0.88%), Delhi (0.25%), Rajasthan (0.13%), Orissa (0.25%) and West Bengal (0.66%) have been marked as slow and silent pockets of the epidemic and states to be watched.

It may be mentioned here that Nagaland figures among the six states in the country with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates.

According to the report the problem seems to be with high-risk groups attending clinics for sexually-transmitted diseases in Andhra Pradesh, the figure for  those testing HIV-positive has increased from 16.40% in 2004 to 22.80% in 2005. In Karnataka the prevalence rate has gone up from 12% in 2004 to 13.60%; in Maharashtra it has gone up from 10.8% to 15.20%; in Manipur from 7.2% to 12.2%; in Nagaland from 1.72% to 3.48%; in Rajasthan from 1.26% to 4.04%; Orissa from 2.8% to 4.6%; Mizoram from 1.0% to 3.0%; West Bengal from 0.88% to 2.04%; and Tripura from 0.73% to 1.26%. Further, of people reporting HIV-positive in 2005, 60.3% are male, 38.4% female and 0.96%  children.

“When the security forces kill one person the whole of Manipur agitates but why are the people keeping quiet when so many people are being killed everyday by drug sellers?”

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