Illicit drug trade not only a challenge for India but also global issue: Amit Shah

Raipur, August 25

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that the illegal narcotics trade was not only a challenge for India but also a global issue. He stressed that the country can fight the menace if it pursues it with determination and strategy.

Addressing a meeting at a hotel in Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh, Shah emphasised the need to adopt four formulas of ‘drug detection, network destruction, culprit detention, and addict rehabilitation’ to achieve success.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to make the country drug-free in 2047, when the 100th year of the country's independence will be celebrated, and gradually the resolution has become the resolution of the 130 crore population. I believe that the resolution of a drug-free India is very important in making a prosperous, safe, and glorious India,” Shah said.

He said the illicit drug trade was not only a challenge for India but also a global issue. He added the need to raise awareness of this menace.

“If we pursue it with determination and strategy, we can win this fight," he said, cautioning that "several countries have lost their fight against it.”

Shah said the illicit drug trade aimed to destroy youth, and the money generated through it was used for anti-national activities. “It is also our national responsibility to make the country drug-free with a zero-tolerance policy,” he said.

Shah also expressed concerns over the use of narcotic substances in Chhattisgarh.

He said, “The percentage of sedative use in Chhattisgarh is 1.45, which is more than the national average. Chhattisgarh shares a border with seven states, including Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, from where drug smuggling is done.” Chhattisgarh has reported 4.98 per cent use of ganja, which is more than the national average of 2.83 per cent and it is a matter of concern, he added.

Shah, who is on a 3-day visit to the state, virtually inaugurated the zonal office of the Narcotics Control Bureau in Nava Raipur at the beginning of the meeting.