During the last couple of days two very eye-catching news are doing the rounds,but diametrically opposite in nature if measured by the consequences they have on Arunachal society at large.

The first one is the news about the flourish in the growth of opium in Medo,a non-descript tiny town in Lohit district and the other that of Women Against Social Evils(WASE) members taking out a peace rally against alleged misappropriations of the seized contraband items by two police personnel in East Siang district.No doubt , if the first one is a cause of consternation, the other one is of hope and optimism.

Medo has gained the notoriety of producing opium in large scale and it seems all the efforts of the state and non-governmental agencies have failed.Despite numerous sensitization drives about the ill-effects that opium entails and simultaneous encouragement for taking alternative livelihoods such as lemon crops and stevia, things have changed little.It is the lure of big and quick cash that has ultimately triumphed, sending alarming signals of an impending misfortune- a gradual elimination of our Mishmi, Singpo and Khampti tribes.

WASE’s journey has been that of exemplary courage and empathy, an organization born out of the need to help parents coping with the pain of losing children to drugs menace which gradually grew to encompass activities to help parents identify addiction symptoms at the onset, counsel addicts and their parents and ensure that society is aware and updated of the evils of drug abuse. Although the group continues to face many obstacles of varied nature, it strives for a drug-free Arunachalee society with its unrelenting efforts. No wonder, it has become a household name in the Siang region due to sheer vigilantism and positive impact they have made on society and won the hearts of the people and had successfully put some fear in those who are involved in the drug business.

But if WASE or WASE-like examples are sparks of hope the state’s macro level picture is not that encouraging.Drug abuse and cultivation problem had reached epidemic levels in our border districts and the situation is quite disturbing given Arunachal’s geographical proximity to the infamous golden triangle of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. The quantum of drugs addiction/abuse is rising more than 200% since last five years in the eastern districts of Arunachal Pradesh, particularly in Lohit, Namsai, Anjaw, Longding and Tirap. 

Again, while discussing about alternative sources of livelihood , it is worth mentioning about the pilot projects initiated by the state government, significant being the idea of cultivating medicinal plants in place of opium, with only drawback being the longer period it takes in actual yielding compared to opium, but with a comparable or even better earning potential . Thus a solid persuasion effort along with urgent rehabilitation mechanism and a little more central support are the needs of the hour.

 

 Multipronged action against this social menace, including destroying opium plants, more stricter action against people involved drug trafficking, providing alternate livelihood with greater intensity, involving a larger section of our society including the Gaon Burahs, Panchayat members, NGOs and general public will go a long way in attaining a drug- free Arunachal Pradesh. Simultaneously innovative ways like promoting tourism as a replacement of opium cultivation may also be tried.We should also not be hesitating to place requests to the industry  fraternity to direct a part of their corporate social responsibility funds to aid this great social cause.

No doubt , the fight against drugs will be a marathon affair, but at any cost it should be non-stop. Even a hiatus may prove fatal and allow the malefactors to recapture their evil cartels.