Tuku vows to keep Dhaka free of drugs, gangs

State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku on Wednesday warned of tougher action against drugs and juvenile gangs, vowing to maintain law and order across Dhaka district.

Tuku, who is also responsible for overseeing law and order and development activities in Dhaka district, issued the warning while addressing a view-exchange meeting at his ministry conference room.

The meeting was held with lawmakers and administrative officials to review the overall law-and-order situation and development activities in the district.

The state minister said people had high expectations from the incumbent government and called for collective efforts to overcome the challenges facing the country.

“We have to face numerous challenges, and to overcome those, we must work in unison,” he said.

Identifying juvenile gangs as a major law-and-order concern, Tuku said they were operating in various groups and roaming freely.

“Juvenile gangs pose the biggest problem. They are active in various groups, roaming freely day by day. If we fail to curb the drug menace now, its spread will only continue to grow,” he said.

“If we do not rein it in immediately, society will eventually collapse and the environment will deteriorate.”
“Our primary target is to eradicate drugs,” he added.

Tuku instructed police to form teams comprising law enforcement personnel in every area and take effective measures against drugs.

He also directed police to prepare lists of drug dealers and take action against them accordingly.
The state minister also stressed the need to regulate battery-operated auto-rickshaws to ease traffic congestion.

“We must take steps right now to bring those under regulatory measure and the licensing system,” he said.

Tuku said law-and-order and development targets could be achieved through collective efforts.

“Law and order and development goals can be achieved if everyone works collectively. Please inform me if any development work is progressing slowly. I will discuss the matter with the Prime Minister and try to ensure their implementation,” he said.

He said the Prime Minister would review district-level law-and-order and development activities every month.

Tuku urged all concerned to discharge their respective duties with honesty and dedication.
Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanom chaired the meeting.

Khondoker Abu Ashfaque, MP (Dhaka-1), Dewan Mohammod Salahuddin, MP (Dhaka-19), Md Tamiz Uddin, MP (Dhaka-20), Nipun Roy Chowdhury, MP, Ferdousi Ahmed, MP (reserved women’s seats), and Dhaka District Council Administrator Yasin Ferdous Morad, among others, attended the meeting.