By Desaraju Surya
AMARAVATI: Drugs menace continues to be “more than high” across Andhra Pradesh despite the Telugu Desam Party-led National Democratic Alliance’s promise of a strong clamp down in 100 days (of coming to power).
Though the Elite Anti-Narcotics Group for Law Enforcement (EAGLE) was constituted in November last to curb the nuisance, police are clearly found wanting in taking effective measures to rid the state of drugs.
While 67.51 per cent of people feel prevalence of drugs, including ganja, has either remained the same or increased in the last one year, a staggering 78.02 per cent see the law enforcement actions as “ineffective”!
A WhatsApp-based Public Perception Tracking (PPT) conducted by the state government on drugs, in recent days, has thrown up some startling facts.
Asked how the drug-related transactions in their areas were in the last one year, 25.12 per cent of the respondents said there has been a “sharp increase”. While 23.49 per cent said it “remained the same”, another 18.90 per cent pointed to a “slight increase”.
Only 11.49 per cent respondents said there was a “significant fall” and 21 per cent noted a “little decline” (in drugs transactions).
The Public Perception Tracking did not specify the number of respondents or other specifics, including the duration of the survey, though it was seemingly conducted in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore, NTR, Kurnool, Kakinada, Guntur, Anantapuramu, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Chittoor and East Godavari districts.
The PPT data revealed that 29.13 per cent of people said they were hearing “very frequently”, 16.58 per cent “frequently” and another 26.56 per cent “regularly” about the sale and consumption of ganja (cannabis) and other drugs in their areas in the last six months.
This clearly showed there has been no let up in the menace.
Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore, NTR, Kurnool, Kakinada, Guntur, Anantapuramu, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Chittoor and East Godavari emerged as a hotspots where drugs trade is apparently rampant.
The PPT also exposed the police, as 32.80 per cent of people said the law enforcers were “taking no action” against drugs sellers or consumers (habitual offenders). Another 30.76 per cent said the police “were not at all effective” in curbing the drugs menace.
Another 34.91 per cent felt the police actions were “not effective” though they were said to be carrying out patrols, raids and arrests.
Only 30.02 per cent said the police actions were found to be firm. Another 31.02 per cent, however, patted the police saying they were taking tough action against habitual (drug) offenders.
While 22.05 per cent respondents replied they did specifically know about police actions, 13.02 per cent said they had not seen or heard about any crack down (on drugs).
More than 35 per cent of people in Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, SPS Nellore, NTR districts opined that “police were acting but not so effectively”!