Deputy Mayor C.P. Musafir Ahamed has called for constant vigil and intervention by the community and councillors in every ward to check the rising drug abuse among youngsters and children.
BJP councillor T. Rinish brought up the issue of drug abuse at the Kozhikode Corporation Council meeting on Tuesday pointing out that there was a planned strategy by drug peddlers to get schoolchildren hooked to drugs, and that the extent of drug abuse was going up by the day. “This is not like alcohol or ganja. Synthetic drugs like MDMA are hard to quit once a person gets addicted,” he said, adding that parents of young children were often not interested in attending ‘Vimukti’ meetings held in wards.
Several councillors actively participated in the debate on the issue and demanded the Corporation’s intervention. “We need to set aside funds to conduct anti-drug campaigns in every ward,” Mr. Rinish said.
Congress councillor P.N. Ajitha said awareness campaigns were being organised by various agencies, but there was a serious dearth of de-addiction centres. She urged the Corporation to open de-addiction centres to tackle the issue.
Congress councillor Omana Madhu alleged that migrant labourers were largely responsible for the distribution of drugs in the city, especially with their uncontrolled flow and the Corporation’s failure to keep track of them.
The Deputy Mayor said a de-addiction centre was coming up at Mankavu soon and called upon councillors to set up ward-level committees to deal with the situation with immediate effect.
Earlier, IUML councillor Soufiya Anish brought up the issue that Samudra Auditorium near Bhat Road Beach was not available for use of the fishing community for weddings, while several CPI(M) programmes were being held there. CPI(M) councillor M.K. Mahesh, who was part of the administrative panel of the auditorium, which is under the control of the Harbour department, explained that the auditorium was undergoing repairs.
CPI(M) councillor T. Suresh Kumar brought up the issue of increasing use of air horns by private buses. The Mayor said the issue would be referred to the Motor Vehicles department.
