Drug-free West Bengal top priority, says CM Suvendu
The top priority of his Government was to make Bengal a drug-free State, as drugs were the cog behind the wheels of crime, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister, who personally took part in destroying more than 3 lakh bottles of a banned cough syrup at Eco Park in Rajar Haat New Town, said his Government was actively working towards making a “Nasha Mukt Bengal” (drug-free Bengal), without which a Nasha Mukt Bharat was not possible.
The Wednesday programme was initiated by Bidhannagar Police, when more than 3.10 lakh bottles worth Rs 31 crore were destroyed. The programme was part of the Union Govt’s anti-drug campaign under the “Nasha mukt Bharat” — by 2029 — program.
“Drug is one of the prime contributing factors behind crimes, including crimes against women... We have found that drug is the main contributing factor behind criminal activities like the one that took place at Baruipur (where a minor girl was gang-raped by a group of felons, one of whom was subsequently killed in an encounter),” Adhikari said, reminding how drug was ruining families.
“In the past five months since we came to power, we have noticed how drugs are ruining many families and society as a whole... So we have made it our top priority to end drug addiction in West Bengal,” he said, adding apart from the State police, several agencies like the BSF, STF, NCB the Kolkata Police were also actively taking part in the programme.
It was such joint operations that were bringing the Government a lot of success in the drug eradication programme, he said, informing how a peddler from Assam was recently arrested, and Yaba tablets were recovered from him.
The Chief Minister, along with Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, took part in a similar programme at Balurghat in South Dinajpur, where the Government destroyed more than 2 lakh Phensedyl bottles.
