Drug footprints set alarm bells ringing

Warangal: The arrest of peddlers and users a couple of days ago indicates that the contraband already has its footprints in Warangal, the second largest city in Telangana. The drug mafia may not be hooked on Warangal directly but the dreadful findings during the police investigation revealed the sensitivity of the malady. All the arrested are in their mid-20s and belong to reputed families in the city. The investigation revealed that two of them regularly visited Goa to procure the contraband such as cocaine, charas (cannabis), Lysergic acid diethylamide, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) etc. The duo is not only habituated to the drugs but also supplying them to others. Although the police didn't reveal the names of other four drug abusers and one escaper, the fact is that they have turned a lodge in Hanumakonda as their adda.

Hitherto the numbers of ganja and gutka cases are rampant in the Commissionerate limits. Despite the police's eagle eye, the number of cases continued to grow in the region. The police had so far registered 75 ganja cases in this year. A big leap compared to 16 cases in 2018. Gutka cases also witnessed a spike from 68 in 2018 to 127 this year.

In addition to these, the Commissionerate Police now has a new challenge in hand to end the drug menace at the budding stage itself. Taking serious note of the first drugs case in the city, the Commissioner of Police Tarun Joshi directed his personnel to focus on the new malady before it takes massive proportions. He urged the management of educational institutions to keep an eye on students.

"The onus is on parents to identify any odd behaviour in their children. They also have to observe their kids' movements," Tarun Joshi said.

Speaking to The Hans India on drug abuse, renowned psychiatrist and former president of Indian Association of Private Psychiatry, Telangana, Sreedhar Yerram Raju said, "The energy without barriers in youths needs to be channelised through art, culture and playground. Experimenting is one of the key characteristics of the youth. They tend to experiment with smoking, alcohol, drugs, bike racing etc and end up in chaos. Unfortunately we don't focus on them."