SRINAGAR: After a study revealed that Jammu and Kashmir has one million drug addicts and drug abuse among youngsters has been increasing, the administration has directed all the Deputy Commissioners of Kashmir to do a colour coding of the villages in their districts according to the number of individuals involved in substance use.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Vijay Kumar Bhiduri has directed all 10 Deputy Commissioners to classify villages in their districts on the basis of colour labels, basing it according to the number of individuals involved in substance use.
The villages, according to the Divisional Commissioner, should be labelled as green, yellow and red, depending upon the severity of drug abuse in the hamlets. With drug addicts using abandoned buildings for substance use, all 10 Deputy Commissioners of the Valley have been asked to divert abandoned government buildings or unutilized buildings to the nearby departments, so that these structures shall not become hubs for drug addicts.
The officials have been directed to conduct regular surveillance of such places and to ensure that these buildings are not being used by drug addicts for the usage of drugs. According to the National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India, conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment India through the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of AIIMS, New Delhi, there are nearly 10 lakh drug addicts in Jammu and Kashmir.
As per the data, 1,08,000 males and 36,000 females were found using cannabis, while 5,34,000 males and 8,000 females were found using opioids and 1,60,000 males and 8,000 females were found using sedatives of different kinds. Similarly, 1,27,000 males and 7,000 females were noticed using inhalants and a large number of males and females were addicts of cocaine, Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) and Hallucinogens.
Drug abuse has become a major concern in Kashmir. A recent study by the Psychiatry Department of Government Medical College Srinagar revealed that Kashmir has surpassed Punjab in drug abuse cases and was currently positioned at No 2 among the top drug abuser regions in India, not far behind North East. About 33,000 syringes are used to inject heroin by drug abusers in the Valley every day, most drug abusers are in the age group of 17-33 years, unemployed and on average a single drug abuser spends Rs 88,183 every month on substance abuse, as per the study.
Nearly 10 lakh drug addicts in J&K: Study
A study conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice revealed there are nearly 10 lakh drug addicts in Jammu and Kashmir. As per the data, 1,08,000 males and 36,000 females were found using cannabis, while 5,34,000 males and 8,000 females were found using opioids and 1,60,000 males and 8,000 females use sedatives.