15-member special police team to check ganja menace in Warangal
Warangal CP Ambar Kishor Jha addressing engineering students during an awareness programme on drug abuse at a private college.
| Photo Credit: File photo
To address the growing menace of drug abuse, particularly ganja consumption, among the youth within the Warangal Police Commissionerate limits, which include Hanamkonda, Warangal, and Jangaon districts, a 15-member special police team led by an Inspector-level officer has been formed by Warangal Police Commissioner Ambar Kishor Jha. This is the first team of its kind to be formed by the police in Tier-II cities in Telangana.
Highlighting the importance of having an exclusive team to combat the drug menace, the Police Commissioner said that Warangal has become a key area for many peddlers who purchase the weed from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, and transport it to different parts of Telangana and Maharashtra via Warangal. Ganja is mainly grown in the forest areas of the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB), and Rampachodaram and Sileru forest areas. The peddlers use the route of Cherla, Kothagudem, Eturnagaram, Mulugu, Warangal, and Jangaon to smuggle the weed.
“Generally, peddlers, after purchasing the weed in large quantities, transport it by stuffing it into special packets weighing two to three kgs. However, most of the time, they use their hideouts under the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) limits to make smaller packets for easier sale since it is located on their route,” explained the police official. He added that this special team would mainly focus on youth, particularly students pursuing graduation in local private and government colleges, including the deemed to be universities.
Meanwhile, the consumption of synthetic drugs is also on the rise in Warangal and surrounding areas. Due to this, the special team consisting of an Inspector and three Sub-Inspectors (SI) will keep a tight vigil on drug users and others susceptible to this alarming trend. “We formed the team with an Inspector who had been involved in anti-Maoist operations. This special team has already seized small quantities of ganja,” the CP said.
Besides this, the police are conducting awareness programmes in colleges and ‘Kalajatha’ programmes by cultural troupes in specific areas of the city. “We have also announced an exclusive mobile number, 87125 84473. We urge people to inform us about ganja selling or consumption,” he said, adding that an SI was tasked with handling information received through phone calls.
The police, in association with the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital and ‘Bannu Arogyada Seva Society’, a non-profit organisation, launched a holistic drug detoxification and de-addiction programme in December 2021. Drug addicts are helped in rehabilitation at the centre.
According to sources, more than 300 students have registered with the police, and received counselling. Some of them were treated at the de-addiction centre.
“Youth should be vigilant as achieving their desired goals will remain a dream if they fall prey to drugs for momentary pleasure,” AK Jha warned. Nearly 424 kgs of ganja was seized in 35 cases since January this year, resulting in the arrest of 80 peddlers under the Warangal Police Commissionerate.
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