Is Bengaluru Emerging As India’s Drug Capital?

We all know the story of Udta Punjab. However, there’s another that is in the making, in Namma Bengaluru. The way things are going, the city could in no time become the drug capital of the country, if narcotics officials are to be believed. Last week, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of the Rajya Sabha, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, expressed the fear that Bengaluru was fast becoming the drug capital of India. His short, but effective speech on the drug menace in Bengaluru on the floor of the Rajya Sabha has made a case for the state government to act fast with a heavy hand against the growing menace.

In February 2018, officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bangalore Zonal Unit, seized 36.6 kg of marijuana from Hunsmaranahalli bus stand and 28.060 kg at Mylasandra bus stop, Mysore road. These are a few of the latest reported cases. The NCB officials have tightened surveillance not only at bus stands, but also at railway stations. They say that many peddlers and suppliers have been rounded up, but every time one offender is caught, another emerges from nowhere.

In his speech in Rajya Sabha, Chandrasekhar appealed to the Chairman, Venkaiah Naidu, for quick action to end the problem. He said, “In the light of an ongoing discussion in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly about the drug menace, especially in Bengaluru, the Assembly discussed the measures it would be taking under the Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-Offenders, Gamblers, Goondas Act, 1985, to control the problem of drug abuse amongst children.”

The Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences have been raising concerns over the rising trend wherein a large amount of drug-addicted youth and children have been visiting them for consultations and help. Some of them are in correction homes at an age when they should be excelling in academics, sports and culture.

The NCB, Bengaluru, in the last two years, has given clear indications of rampant drug abuse in the city.

Dr G Sreekumar Menon, former director-general of the National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics, in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 November 2017 listed a series of measures that could be taken by the central government to bring in stricter rules and regulations against drug peddling.

“Drug abuse among students is a menace in all educational institutions across India as well as globally. Unfortunately, this topic has not been viewed with the seriousness it deserves. I have requested the Prime Minister to consider convening an all-India meet on student drug abuse to be attended by the vice-chancellors and registrars of all universities,” he says. Dr Menon has started a non-governmental organisation named Yenepoya Narcotics Educational Foundation of India at the private Yenepoya University in Mangaluru, and under its ‘Mission Angel Dust’ will endeavour to spread awareness on the dangers of drug abuse. Modules have been created on topics such as narcotics and psychotropic substances, the science of drug addiction, narcotics and students, identification of drug abuse in students by parents, teachers and classmates, and the ill-effects of the use of narcotic drugs on women.

D V Sadananda Gowda, MP from Bengaluru and Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation, however, gives a very mundane view, speaking to Swarjaya from New Delhi. He said, “This issue falls under the state subject category, and the state has the full power to deal with the menace. Let us not look at the issue from a political angle as the problem is big and transcends all other considerations.”

State narcotics intelligence officials, on the condition of anonymity, however, say the extent of drug trade in Bengaluru city could be much higher than estimated, but things are turning out to be bad for tier-2 cities. Police and narcotics sleuths from the districts are also reporting increase in cases of drug hauls and arrests. Mangaluru appears to be second only to Bengaluru in reporting incidences of substance abuse. While Mangaluru gets its stock from Kerala, Bengaluru has its own production centres of synthetic drugs.

Mathikere, Kodigehalli and several places around suburban Bengaluru are known for synthetic drug making units. Mysuru, Mangaluru and districts that border Kerala, source drugs from there. The narcotics intelligence machinery is working in coordination with their counterparts in Kerala and Goa to stem the problem. This is why the NCB is able to bust huge rackets and seize a substantive amount of drugs, apart from zeroing in on the right suspects.

Those who have gone a step ahead and researched this field such as Dr Menon are of the opinion that the universities must have their own anti-narcotics cells as well as a strong internal security apparatus to prevent the youth from going astray. “I have discussed these issues on various anti-narcotics fora and have also recommended the presence of trained dog squads in every university to keep a check on such anti-social activities. This will be the best deterrent against substance abuse on campus. Once we rid our campuses of this menace, dealing with residual issues will be easy,” says Dr Menon.

Dr G Parameshwara, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and formerly home minister, has said that he will not allow Karnataka or Bengaluru to become a hub of narcotics. Quoting NCB figures, the he said there could be as many as five lakh drug addicts in the state.

Parent teacher associations and their federation in the state have also been having regular discussions on the drug menace in campuses. “We have advised parents to restrict the flow of money in the hands of children, and as far as possible to keep a watch on their behaviour as well as the company they keep,” a senior lecturer in a Bengaluru college told Swarajya. Unfortunately, educational institutions are wary of discussing the drug problem in open fora as they feel it will stigmatise their institutions, and this must change, the lecturer added.