The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) recently said at least 3,500 drug dealers including 95 godfathers are running illicit drug trade in Dhaka under the nose of the law enforcement agencies. Some of these listed drug dealers are directly involved, some are patronisers and some are financiers. Overall, the scenario is perilous, and the social fabric has been destabilised despite the government’s zero-tolerance policy against drugs.
In the last two years, law enforcers conducted raids in Dhaka and Chattogram and seized a huge quantity of crystal meth. On August 21, DNC arrested 10 persons with 500 grammes of crystal meth and 5,000 yaba pills from the capital’s Uttara, Banani, Banasree, Khilkhet and Bashundhara Residential Area. The number of drug addicts increased in the country, with 114 patients taking treatment every day at public and private rehabilitation centres last year. A total of 90,133 people with addiction underwent treatment at the five government rehabilitation centres and 53,720 at the 324 private ones in the last five years.
Experts said ease and availability of narcotics is the number one reason behind the rise in the number of drug addicts. Social unrest, inability to cope with failures, boredom, loneliness, and changing family structures are among the factors that lead people towards drugs. Cross-border drug trafficking and the spread of harmful medicinal drugs have contributed to the growing addiction problem in Bangladesh, especially among the most downtrodden people in society. Once hooked on the habit, the victims either eventually drop out of their academic institutions or perform poorly.
The half educated bureaucrats have built a government that goes for police operation after the damage is done. The failed Narcotics Department should close itself and save the people. Drug affliction of younger generation has set the nation worrying. If we had real governance it would have held the Narcotics Department officials to account sacked many of them.
