AIZAWL: Drug menace continues to haunt Mizoram as the menace has claimed 45 lives this year alone.
According to the Excise and Narcotics department of Mizoram, from January till August in 2020 (8 months), 45 people including 4 females have died of drug abuse in the state. The Excise and Narcotics department also said that 55 people including 13 females had died last year (2019).
The department then informed that Mizoram had reported the first ever drug related death case in 1984. In those days the most common drug was heroin. The Excise and Narcotics department further informed that, in the past 36 years i.e. since the first drug related death case in 1984 in the state, 1624 people have died due to drug abuse.
According to the department, Spasmo-proxyvon or Parvon spas has been the main drug used by the people in the state.
Also Read: Drugs worth ₹17.5 Crores seized by Assam Rifles in Manipur
The Excise and Narcotics department then said that the state government is making all-out efforts to address the issue of drug abuse in the state.
One measure the Mizoram government has been taking up is the sealing of various porous borders, both inter-state and international, in order to curb the drug menace in the state. The state government is also hectically campaigning against drugs and alcohol since the month of March this year.
Mizoram is situated in a vulnerable location as the state is sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh, with which it shares about 722 km long international border.
Apart from the state government, the Young Mizo Association (YMA) has also been carrying out fervent campaigns against drug abuse in the state. The YMA has set up an anti-drug squad known as Supply Reduction Service (SRS) across the state to check drug smuggling.
NNN