IIM Shillong held a special session on the menace of drug abuse with the Meghalaya police chief because it was the “need of the hour” for educational institutions to “focus” on educating youngsters on the dangers of drug abuse and the legal repercussions of the same.

The two-hour special session — Drug Abuse-A Deadly Menace — addressed by Meghalaya DGP L.R. Bishnoi on October 11 comes amid the ongoing war on drugs in the Northeast. It was also one of the key issues discussed during Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent three-day visit to Assam.

Addressing the students and faculty on the perils and challenges of drug abuse and the pivotal role being played by the Meghalaya police in tackling the same, the Meghalaya top cop said drug abuse was a critical social problem the country was facing and all sections of the society must strive to curb this menace and find sustainable solutions to tackle it.

While urging the gathering to cooperate with the police as well as civil administration to curb the menace, Bishnoi said: “Meghalaya being near the golden triangle, an opium-producing area of SE Asia — comprising parts of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand — is more susceptible to the menace of drug abuse due to the easy availability of drugs…. The menace of drug abuse is prevalent not only in urban areas. We are on a mission to spread awareness on the dangers of drug abuse to the remotest of corners.”

The Meghalaya police have this year seized drugs worth several crores of rupees, including about 4,075 gm of heroin and 3,779 kg of ganja, while registering 84 cases and arresting 192 persons. Heroin seized in Meghalaya originates from Myanmar while ganja from Tripura and Manipur

According to the Magnitude of Substance Report, 2019, published by the ministry of social justice and empowerment, the consumption of opium and ganja in seven northeastern states is at an alarming level, which is higher than the average of their consumption in the country.

Bishnoi later told The Telegraph that the police have been organising awareness programs in schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions as part of their drive against drug abuse.

“Not only IIM, Shillong… we intend to cover all educational institutions one by one just to create awareness among youth against this menace. The main objective is to involve the youth in a war waged by us against narcotics. And also seek their suggestions in helping eradication of this problem,” Bishnoi said.

He added: “At IIM, Shillong, it was our first interactive session with students and faculty. The two-hour session was a part of the police strategy to combat the menace of drug abuse… so that everyone understands the dangerous consequences of drug abuse.”

Prof. D.P. Goyal, Director, IIM Shillong, in his address, appreciated the initiative of the Meghalaya police to tackle the issue of drug abuse while emphasising on the need for society and institutions to cooperate with legal authorities.

“I am grateful to Dr Bishnoi that he took out his time to address such a sensitive issue. It has become the need of the hour for not only the government and the police but also for the educational institutions to primarily focus on educating the youngsters on the dangers of drug abuse and the legal repercussions of the same,” Goyal said.

Shah had chaired a meeting with chief ministers, chief secretaries and director generals of police of all the northeastern states on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’ in Guwahati on October 8.

The objective of the regional conference was to convey the Centre’s seriousness of tackling the menace before the Northeast, which shares international borders with four countries and the region is close to Myanmar, the second largest producer of opium in the world after Afghanistan.

About 40,000 kilograms of narcotic drugs were destroyed across the Northeast as part of the special operation against drugs. Drugs worth over Rs 20,000 crores was seized between 2014 and 2022.