The measures taken by the Shopian Police in containing the drug menace and tightening noose around the suppliers by launching narcotic-specific cordon and search operations (CASO) in identified hotspots and deploying sniffer dogs across a network of checkpoints to target drug movement are likely to bring positive results. The cops in the district deserve kudos for such out-of-the-box initiative, which was not experimented before to curb the drug menace in J&K.
The utility of sniffer dogs is well known in doing such jobs as these are extensively used at airports by the quarantine departments of various countries especially Australia, where the government is very particular about stopping the disease spread by the viruses coming from other continents through passengers entering the country by ships and airplanes. The operations in Shopian are being conducted in coordination with the CRPF’s 14th Battalion to disrupt the supply chain and act against the perpetrators of illegal drug business and using the proceeds for abetting terrorism.
The surprise inspections under CASO can help in identifying people having possession of illegal drugs, which is the first step in containing the menace in the district. The dogs belonging to trained units of canines can act as useful agents to detect concealed narcotics during vehicle checking. It is pertinent to mention that J&K is presently observing 100 days Nasha Mukt J&K Abhiyan and so far many cases have been registered, houses of several drug peddlers have been demolished and other stringent measures including recovery of drugs have been taken under the multi-pronged strategy.
Looking at the innovative steps taken by the police in Shopian, it has become necessary that the men in Khaki in other districts should also emulate similar steps to eliminate the problem of substance abuse from the soil of J&K. The people at the helm should have faith that it is possible to weaken the network of drug suppliers and protect society through coordinated steps of the different agencies of the government including police.
At the same time, more focus should also be given to awareness programmes in schools to make young people understand the dangers of drugs. Rehabilitation and counseling services must be strengthened to help addicts return to a normal life instead of falling back into the cycle. Community participation, including parents, teachers, and local leaders, is also very important in identifying and preventing drug abuse at an early stage. If such combined efforts continue across all districts, Jammu and Kashmir can move closer to becoming a drug-free society.
