Shrill voices were heard on the floor of the House on the drug menace plaguing young children in schools and colleges. Let’s be clear in our minds that, despite the countless promises, Goa has failed to get a firm grip over the narcotic trade. And we’ve seen enough of tough talk and blame game.
The biggest worry for now is school children and college students taking to drugs. And if the government feels that headmasters and principals should provide them the necessary information to act upon, then its wait-and-see policy will be an exercise in futility. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s letter to heads of schools and colleges seeking information on drugs circulation in the vicinity has got lukewarm response, and rightly so. This is not as simple as being made out to be. School heads have a much bigger responsibility towards the students and their parents. There are grave consequences attached to this issue where even the name of the institute could be at stake. If that was so easy, the government could ask even parents to report any youth indulging in narcotics.
Let us remind the chief minister that around September last year he wrote to all MLAs to provide information of drug circulation, and not to come up openly with statements. There were hardly a few legislators who wrote back to the CM and all that talk-across-party-lines fell flat.
Precious young lives are being sucked into this addiction and this battle can’t be won if the government depends on the outside world for information. The principle of traffic sentinel scheme cannot be tried here. Maintaining police vigil around campuses is not going to help much, it may only force the youth to shift their base.
We are amused to hear statements which tell us that Parrikar came down from Delhi to fight for the fish of Goans, or when we hear that Parrikar is ready to risk his life to stop the drug menace in the State. Let the issue at hand not be diluted by individual heroics. This is a battle of the State and the government must devote its energies to weed the drug menace right from the very roots.
Instead of relying on information from sources, government should have its own strong network of intelligence. Instead of relying on its MLAs and the Headmasters of schools to provide information, the government machinery should be in a position to smoke out all trouble spots. Law enforcers will be left hallucinating if they are to act on only information which is sourced. Time and again, all police moves are aimed at the drug consumer and not the ‘drug pusher’. There need to be seriousness and sheer intent behind any initiatives aimed at targeting drugs.
But the sad part of the drug story is that we still live in denial. The chief minister has brought it to the notice of the House that there is no record of drugs being produced in the State, this despite the fact that a production unit of Ketamine was sealed recently in a nation-wide raid. Add to this, the two Russian nationals were found to be growing marijuana in a greenhouse set up at a bungalow in Siolim. Time to get cracking, Parrikar!
