Neotan: A Catholic diocese in Arunachal Pradesh has taken up the cudgels against drug menace that has become a serious threat to the northeastern Indian state.
“One in every ten youth in Arunachal Pradesh has either tasted drugs or become its addicts,” laments Fr Felix Anthony, principal of Newman School in Neotan, a remote village in Changlang district under Miao diocese in the eastern extreme of the state.
The diocese’s Inter-Collegiate Youth Association and the Women Welfare Society of Arunachal Pradesh on June 28 conducted a drug awareness campaign at Fr Anthony’s school.
The program was part of a series of events the youth association launched on June 26 to raise awareness on drug abuse among students in all the schools in eastern Arunachal Pradesh.
“Even though there is no official data as to the exact number of addicts, most youth here are taking drugs, not just opium but stuff like brown sugar and so on,” the priest, who also works among young people, told Matters India after the program. He laments that drugs are easily available even in remote areas of the state.
“What is very alarming that even young students as young as 16 are addicted and their parents have no control over them,” the priest added.
Speaking to the Newman School students, the youth association president stressed the need for them to become aware of increasing cases of drug abuse in Miao area. “The sharp rise in the number of drug addicts among students is very disturbing. They not only destroy themselves but their families and their society at large. You must not only be aware but also spread awareness among others. The society needs you,” he added.
Fr. Anthony applauded the students’ movement for taking on a social cause during their summer holidays. “We hope the young student in our school follow your example to work for the social concerns such as drug abuse,” he added.
Mossang, president of the Women Welfare Society of Arunachal Pradesh who was also present, urged the students to focus on their education and become great leaders of society. “When I was a student, there was no one to guide any one. You must listen to the advice of your seniors today for a better tomorrow,” she added.
The students said the program helped understand the seriousness of the problem. “We have had drug awareness campaign in our school before. But this one is very special and it had greater impact on us as it is being organized by our seniors who were with us earlier,” said Ralpung Mossang, a ninth grader.
The program ended with the students taking a pledge never to indulge in drug abuse and to do their bit to stop its spread.
The two-week long campaign began with Awareness Marathon on June 26 at Miao. It will conclude on July 9 with Inter-school cultural competitions and Motivational Rally.
Fr Anthony says the problem has arisen partly due parents’ lenient attitude. “They have failed to be strict and provided whatever the children demand mistaking that to be love.
Earlier, security agencies had alerted the federal government of an alarming trend of opium addiction among the tribal border population of Arunachal Pradesh which they warned also threatened “national security.
Narcotics enforcement and intelligence agencies that keep a tab on the activities of illegal drugs in the country’s eastern border areas warned in 2014 that the drug menace could threaten “the very existence” of the tribal population of Arunachal Pradesh.
They also cautioned that if the trend was not checked promptly, it would adversely affect the health and existence of various tribes in the state..
The problem has become “quite sensitive” as Arunachal Pradesh shares India’s borders with Myanmar and China.
Tucked away in the far northeast corner, the state has emerged on the top among the illegal opium poppy producers in the country.
The state with 1.4 million people accounted for 40 percent of the total 2,530 acres of poppy crop destroyed across the country by Narcotics Control Bureau during 2014-2015.
The official pointed out that so far India has been on the global heroin trafficking map only as a transit country, but the emerging Arunachal scenario is like a “game changer,” linking the country to its production.