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Journalism of Courage
It’s been ticking for years, but officials in the Arunachal government had always pretended it was not a big problem until at least five deaths occurred in the past two years.
C.C. Singpho, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, does not hesitate to admit that drug abuse and addiction have reached alarming proportions. ‘‘Some of our communities, especially in the eastern districts, are traditionally known for opium addiction. There is also a history of poppy cultivation in some districts. But what has come in the recent years is brown sugar, which has become a craze,’’ said Singpho.
The government, however, is yet to draw up any action plan to tackle the menace. In the absence of any survey, the exact number of addicts has also remained unknown. Though Itanagar is believed to be relatively free from the new menace, the youth in Tirap, Changlang and Lohit districts are the worst-affected, said Singpho. Officials suspect that while a major portion of the drug comes in from Myanmar, Dibrugarh in Assam is also a known transit point.
With no government scheme or plan in hand to tackle the situation, the onus of generating awareness has been taken up by some NGOs, which include the Singpho Development Society, the All Tai-Khamti & Singpho Students’ Union and the Women Welfare Society. ‘‘The student organisation recently even caught two drug peddlers and handed them over to the police,’’ the Health minister said.
Education Minister Chowna Mein also expressed concern over the increasing addiction problem in the state. ‘‘It has become a major social malaise in the three eastern districts. The authorities have organised some de-addiction camps, but that is not enough. What we need is a crackdown on the drug racket,’’ said Mein.
At Mein’s instance, a new NGO Operation Clean Society organised several campaigns to spread awareness about addiction. De-addiction camps have been held in places like Namsai, Bordumsa and Chowkham in the past few months.
But as Singpho pointed out, Arunachal Pradesh as a whole is yet to wake up to this problem. ‘‘We have brought the matter to the attention of the chief minister and Speaker, so that a policy decision can be arrived at to tackle drug abuse and trafficking,’’ he said.
