Police fails to break drug trap in Far-West

Dhangadhi: Ram Bahadur Rajak, the coordinator of the Richmond Fellowship Rehabilitation Center in Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan Ward No. 3, was badly addicted to drugs for 12 years. But for the past 20 years, he has returned to normal life and is active in the anti-drug campaign. At present, 22 drug addicts from different districts are undergoing treatment at the rehabilitation center run by him. According to his experience, people in the age group of 15 to 25 are addicted to drugs. He said that the number of drug users has increased due to open borders in the far west. "The situation of drug users is dire," he said, adding that "the police administration needs to pay attention to control." 

According to a survey conducted by the Nepal National Social Welfare Association (NNSWA), which has been active in the social sector for two and a half decades, 3,328 drug users have been found in the far-western states so far. Drug use has led to financial crises and theft, family feuds, murder, and even rape. The security arrangements of the two countries are also being challenged as the transactions in Nepal are done in India. Chairman of the Nepal-India Journalists Association Dil Bahadur Chhatyal said that there should be coordination between the two countries to control the drug trade. "First of all, the police should arrest the trafficker along with the user," he said.

Police have concluded that drug trafficking has spread in the far-western states due to the open Nepal-India border. Police had arrested 400 users in the state in the fiscal year 2077/078 BS. The highest number of drug users have been arrested in the last fiscal year from Kanchanpur and Kailali districts bordering India. A total of 196 people have been arrested in Kanchanpur and 127 in Kailali. Similarly, nine Indian nationals have been arrested. Nepali citizens have more drug users while Indian citizens are traffickers.
Chief of the District Police Office, Kailali, and Superintendent of Police, Bishwa Adhikari have argued that the drug network could not be dismantled in Kailali-Kanchanpur as there is enough supply of drugs in the Indian border market. "We have been holding coordination meetings with India's security agencies as well," he said. With fewer Indian users and more transactions, the Nepali administration has repeatedly urged Indian security officials to help control it. This issue has also found a place in the border meetings. But there has been no joint effort between the two countries to break the drug menace.

There is also an argument that the checkpoints at the border should be increased as drugs can be easily bought in the Indian market. At present, Nepali users themselves have been buying drugs in the border markets of Gauriphanta, Bangaun, Chandanchowki, and Banbasa. Chief District Officer of Kanchanpur, Ram Prasad Pandey, said that discussions were being held between the two countries on drug control. "Our efforts alone are under control," he said. "We need to coordinate with the Indian administration and we are doing it." The police urge the local levels, people's representatives, and the youth to help in controlling the drug trade. Police have been arresting and prosecuting such drug users. However, the traders have not been arrested by the police.