It is a national duty to stop flow of drugs to mainland India : Assam CM

Guwahati, July 19: Assam chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma todaysaid that contraband drugs coming from outside countries enter the countrythrough borders in Northeast besides Pakistan frontiers and routed throughAssam to the rest of the country.

"I know that drugs are sent to the mainland of India through Assam.It's my national duty to cut the supply line. Assam government is trying hard to reduce consumption in the state and it is a national duty to ensure that drugs don't go to otherstates. In two months, we've seized contraband drugs worth Rs 163 crores",said Dr Sarma adding that the Assam government is working in coordination with the government of frontier states of Manipur and Mizoram to fight the menace ofdrugs.

Sarma was addressing a programme titled 'Seized Drugs Disposal' that wasorganised in appreciation of the work ethics and valour of Assam Police inHojai.

The Chief Minister in a tweet informed that, "The Last Rites of Drugsin Assam! In 'seized drugs disposal' program at Hojai today, 353.62 grams of heroin, 736.73 kg ganja and 45,843 tablets have been destroyed."Assam Government has adopted a zero tolerance policy against drugs andAssam Police have been asked to go on an overdrive against the menace. "Iappreciate the state police's relentless campaign against drugs. We shall continueto work together against the scourge", the Chief Minister said in a tweet.

"Destroying seized drugs worth Rs 163.58 cr over the last 2 days speaks volumes of the money involved in drugs trading. It involves evasion of GST and is a severe dent to the economy. We're working in coordination with Manipurand Mizoram to eliminate drug menace from North East India", tweeted Dr Sarma.

The CM said that some anti-social elements have been taking advantage ofAssam's proximity to the infamous Golden Triangle and using our land as transitroutes for drug trafficking. "However, we've been firm in our resolve tohandle this menace with strictest measures. The results are visible," he said.