The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka's Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran says he would seek the central government's help to control the growing drug problem in his province.
Addressing a media briefing in Kilinochchi Sunday, the Chief Minister said the criminal activities in the province had escalated alarmingly in recent times.
Noting that the police department has a separate Police Narcotics Division to deal with the narcotics, Wigneswaran said he would seek help from the government to tackle the drug menace in the North.
Wigneswaran said the Northern Provincial Council has set up surveillance committees throughout the Jaffna peninsula to create awareness over the dangers of drugs. He asked the people to be vigilant over drug peddling in their neighborhoods and schools.
The Chief Minister earlier claimed that the drug menace that cropped up since the defeat of the LTTE in 2009 was due to the deployment of the Sri Lanka Army. He had said that there was no drug problem in the Northern Province when the LTTE was in control.
Meanwhile, Police in the Jaffna district have undertaken special round-the-clock patrolling and formulated an 'Anti-drug plan' to eradicate this menace from the region, a senior police official told Sunday Times.
Newly appointed Headquarters Inspector (HQI) of Jaffna, Fredrick Woodler, said he has started awareness campaigns on the use of the narcotics in all the schools in the district.
The Province has seen a significant rise in crimes, including heroin use and peddling, alcohol abuse, sexual exploitation of young girls and rape after the end of the war.
The authorities say after nearly 30 years of war, during which the LTTE brutally controlled the people , the increased freedom, access to Internet and mobile phones and the money coming in from overseas family members combined with lack of employment have made the province's youth more prone to commit crimes. (Thanks CP)
