MARGAO: Sale of ganja is likely to become a serious issue in Salcete if strong action is not initiated feel South Goa locals, though Police claimed to have focused on a two-pronged strategy of conducting raids and booking cases and holding regular awareness drives to make youngsters aware about the ill-effects of drugs, in reality.
Salcete having five police stations in 2021 booked 10 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 while in 2020, for the first ten months, they booked 17 cases and further in the year 2019 in 10 months they booked 31 cases .
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Police claimed that the number of cases have dropped and said that to keep a check on the drug menace, they have focused on a two-pronged strategy of conducting raids and booking cases and holding regular awareness drives.
Out of 10 cases booked by Salcete police stations in the year 2021, four were booked by Margao police, three by Colva police, two by Fatorda police and one was registered by Cuncolim police. No cases were registered by Maina-Curtorim police in the year 2021.
In the year 2020 for the first ten months Salcete police booked 17 cases under NDPS Act, of which seven cases were booked by Margao police, six by Fatorda, two each by Colva and Cuncolim police.
As compare South Goa district police stations from January 1 to July 7, 2019 booked 49 cases under NDPS act of which 11 were booked by Margao, 11 in Vasco, five in Ponda, four in Fatorda, three each in Colva, Canacona and Verna, two each in Cuncolim and Mormugao, and one each in Maina-Curtorim, Quepem, Curchorem, Sanguem and Collem.
Out of these 49 cases booked in south Goa, 21 cases were reported in Salcete.
In the year 2018, south goa district police stations booked 77 cases while in the year 2017, 60 cases were booked by south Goa police stations of which 17 cases were booked by Margao police followed by 16 by Ponda police, 12 by Vasco police and six each by Colva and Canacona, 4 cases were booked by Verna, 3 each by Cuncolim, Fatorda and Curchorem while 2 each by Maina Curtorim and Collem police stations. One case each was booked by Quepem, Sanguem and Mormugao.
The above figures indicate that there has been a spurt in the number of drug cases in Margao, Ponda, Vasco, Colva, Canacona etc from 2017 onwards.
One senior citizen on the condition of anonymity felt that a strong police commitment to aggressive narcotics law enforcement will strengthen the resolve to deal with the problem. Poor manpower, lack of drug detection training and some avoidable procedural delays may be hampering the effectiveness of the drug prevention efforts however drug menace has to be kept under total control he said.
