A CORRESPONDENT
NALBARI: An alarming picture of drug addiction and HIV infection has emerged in Nalbari district. District Commissioner Nibedan Das Patowary said more than 2,000 youths in the district are addicted to drugs, with about 40 per cent being young women. Among them, 978 are infected with HIV due to repeated use of same needles, he said at a book-release programme at Bhanukuchi.
The disclosure has triggered widespread concern and criticism of the government’s anti-drug drive. Social worker Gyanen Chakraborty said drugs, gutkha and alcohol are ruining an entire generation. He blamed the government and police for failing to check the menace and said merely identifying users is not enough; supply networks must be dismantled at source.
Newly elected AASU Nalbari district president Diganta Bharali also criticised the government. He pointed out that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently took part in a programme to destroy seized drugs at Daulashal in Nalbari, but such symbolic acts lack sustained enforcement.
Bharali alleged the figures expose serious gaps in the government’s approach, adding that district departments are limited to routine programmes rather than effective intervention.