A heady affair
- Imphal Times Editorial :: April 17 2018 -

While the nation, and by extension the state is getting increasingly obsessed with interpreting each and every issue and incidents with explanations tinged with religious justifications or cultural innuendoes thereby threatening to bifurcate the society on communal and religious lines, abetted in no small measure by bigoted religious fanatics albeit indirectly and with practiced subtlety, the state is slowly but unmistakably being overrun by a more insidious threat that has the potential to wipe out the entire society and its future.

The menace of drugs has been an ever present menace in our society cutting across communal, cultural, economic and ethnic lines.

While the state government has managed to portray a sense of reprieve from the ever present danger to the society, everyday experiences indicate otherwise.

The involvement of very influential persons in the trafficking of such psychotropic drugs in and through the state is a foregone conclusion.

It is certainly beyond the reach and capacity of the common public to be dealing in such highly risky and financially intensive business, and the latest arrest of a retired senior police officer who was ironically in charge of Narcotics in the state in connection with the seizure of a large consignment of illegal narcotic substances once again drives home the point.

Consignments of various banned narcotic substances worth crores have routinely been intercepted and arrests made, and a lot of those involved in these trafficking have turned out to be influential and well-connected persons and even high ranking officers of the armed forces.

The lure of the personal gain and instant wealth have far outweighed the concern these narcotics would create in the society.

In fact the returns on such illegal ventures is so lucrative that it has been reported that there are already improvised mobile drug manufacturing units operating in the state, a frightening revelation given the increased susceptibility of the younger generation to such forms of induced euphoria given the increasing lack of socially and physically active interactions.

The threat of drugs poisoning the society and the young generation in the state is all too real and needs immediate attention.

The task, however is easier said than done, as almost everyone involved in the trafficking of such harmful substance turns out to be influential, well-connected and highly ranked officers.

This may be one of the most important factor hindering the fight against drugs abuse and narcotics trafficking in the state.

So what should be done to stem the increasing menace of drugs in the state? First off- a very strict and stringent form of punishment needs to be mete out to those traffickers with no leniency whatsoever.

A swift and consistent justice delivery system will also prove to be a huge deterrent for the traffickers.

Involvement of the public in controlling drug trafficking and abuse as well as providing incentives in various forms will go a long way in evolving an effective system of combating the drug menace in the state and the rest of the country.

The public have the ultimate power to decide the future of the state and those in power and authority should be made aware of the fact so that they carry out their duties and responsibility instead of abusing their positions and making unlawful gains out of it.