Telangana Declares "War" On Drugs, Cops Offered Rewards For Busting Trade
NDTV
The orders come a day after Hyderabad Police arrested a drug peddler - with links to the trade in Maharashtra, Gujarat and UP - and seized 40 kg of ganja worth Rs 4 lakh
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has declared an "all-out war" on illegal drugs - specifically the cultivation and use of cannabis (ganja) - and ordered the state's police force to develop a comprehensive action plan to "totally eradicate ganja production".
The Chief Minister also demanded an end to gambling and illicit liquor, calling for stringent measures, including surveillance of educational institutions, to achieve these ends. He has also offered rewards, including cash, and special promotions for successful officials.
The orders were handed down at a high-level meeting of police officials and the excise department in Hyderabad on Wednesday. A government statement said the Chief Minister told officials they needed to act "before the situation gets out of hand and becomes severe..."
"We achieved Telangana state after a long fight. We achieved several targets with development as the aim (and) our police are maintaining excellent law-and-order... we controlled extremism... prestige and respect of state has gone up. It is unfortunate that availability of banned drugs has increased," the Chief Minister, or KCR, said at the meeting.
