Experts at a consultation meeting yesterday suggested Bangladesh’s intensified cooperation with two neighbours as they identified trend of growing social crimes and debacles as major consequences of drug abuse in the country.
“More effective engagement (of Bangladesh) is needed with neighbouring India and Myanmar to stop influx of drugs,” former chairman of Rajshahi Education Board Professor Tanbirul Alam told the function as part of Department of Drugs and Narcotics Control’s (DNC) month-long nationwide anti-drug campaign.
He added drug dealers should be at the focus of the law enforcement campaign while the community level interventions were needed to build a drug- free society to protect people particularly the young generation from deadly aggression of drugs.
DNC Director General Khandakar Rakibur Rahman and Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury addressed the meeting as the chief and special guests while Rajshahi Education Board Model School and College principal Professor Dr Mokbul Hossain chaired it at the college premises.
Rakibur Rahman said social or family maladjustments, rising crimes, health hazards, murders and suicides are the major consequences of abusing of drugs like heroin, phensidyl, ganja, pathedrine and tranquilizers.
He said the law enforcement agencies alone were not capable to combat the social disease but community participation coupled with family and social contribution was very important to this end.
The meeting was informed that 80 percent of the drug addicts belong to the age group of 15 to 30 in the country.
Additional Director of DNC Mujibur Rahman Patwary and its Deputy Lutfor Rahman, Former Chairman of Rajshahi Education Board Prof Tanbirul Alam and Social Worker Shaheen Akhter Rainy also spoke.
Deputy Commissioner Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury told the audience that the present government was pledge-bound to free the society from drugs addiction and urged all the attending guardians, parents and others concerned to supplement the government endeavor for welfare of the nation.
