Four-fold rise in NDPS cases in one decade across Assam

GUWAHATI: The city has been shackled in the chains of narcotics as the number of cases under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act, 1985 have risen by more than four times over the last decade across the State.

It is not very hard for youths of the city to procure narcotic substances these days. Despite the police authorities' vigilance, thousands of youths are abusing drugs everyday by jeopardizing their lives.

According to police sources, a total of 180 cases were registered under the NDPS Act in 2010 in various police stations of the State. The cases were rising at a steady pace until 2016 when the number of cases doubled as compared to 2010. As many as 386 cases were registered in 2016, followed by 380 in 2017 and 479 in 2018. In 2019, the number of cases took an exponential growth and 859 cases were registered over the year.

Along with the drugs, the State markets are being flooded with foreign cigarettes, said a police source. These cigarettes contain more nicotine comparing to the country-made ones which makes the people hooked on to them easily.

The source underlined that most of the narcotics are smuggled from Myanmar which enters the State through Manipur.

"While drugs like Ganja and Opium are exported from Myanmar, cough syrups are transported from Punjab and Haryana," the source pointed out.

The drug menace is a major problem as it entails heavy socio-economic costs to both individuals and society. Thus it is high-time the authorities put on an effective mechanism or figured out the loopholes to curb the menace of drugs among the youths of the State.

ALSO WATCH: GET SET GLOBAL: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO STUDY IN THE UK