Emergence
of drugs culture in Assam
During a recent police operation a huge consignment of Yaba tablets were seized in Assam's Cachar district. As many as 54,000 Yaba tablets were seized by the Lakhipur police and two persons were held in connection to the seizure. A month ago heroin worth Rs 20 crore in the international market was seized and two peddlers were nabbed in the Karimganj district of Assam.
These recent operations by the Assam Police against drugs clearly justify the seriousness and emergence of drugs culture in Assam. Our enforcement agencies must aim at destroying all channels between the traffickers and the final consumers. This drug culture has not only affected the lives of the youth but also posed a serious threat to the internal security of the region, because illegal drug trafficking is a primary source of income for the militant organizations operating in the region.
The government should adopt a two-pronged approach where along with the successful raids against drugs trafficking, the government should also provide proper counselling to the victims and take harsh actions against the traffickers. There should be more government-funded rehabilitation centres for the victims of drug abuse. Promoting sports among the younger people is another progressive step to keep youths away from drugs. It is high time for the authorities to act now otherwise it will be too late and Assam will soon get a tag of being a drug-rife state like Punjab.
Rintu Talukdar,
Gauhati University.
Need for streetlights
Through your esteemed daily I beg to draw the authorities' attention to the disturbing fact that the entire area near the daily market in Howajan (Gohpur) plunges into darkness just after sunset as there are no functional streetlights. This exposes pedestrians, especially senior citizens and women, to various difficulties. Walking on the road after dusk has become a terror for us. Needless to say, a well -lit street instils a sense of security in our minds. I, on behalf of all the women and senior citizens of our area, request the authorities concerned to install streetlights in the entire Howajan area as early as possible.
Sangita Borah,
Howajan, Gohpur.