In a major initiative to curb the growing drug menace in Kerala’s capital ahead of the reopening of schools, the BJP-led Tiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation launched a city-wide anti-drug drive on May 31. Mayor Adv. V.V. Rajesh inaugurated the campaign, which aims to identify and eliminate drug-related activities across the city. The drive was led by the Mayor along with Corporation Town Planning Standing Committee Chairman Pattoor Radhakrishnan and Councillor Adv. P.S. Mini, a day before schools reopened in the state on June 1.
Big searches were carried out in small C-Class shops, made of plywood, selling chocolates, soda, cigarettes, etc., located very close to schools and large quantities of cigarettes and pan materials were confiscated.
The Mayor stated that the city administration has gathered information about the drug mafia operating in the city and that they will not be allowed to sell drugs in the city, come what may.
The Mayor’s declaration was an assertion of “We won’t permit it here”, reminding one of the punch dialogue “Narcotics is a dirty business” from the movie “A Dirty Business”.
The Mayor’s declaration reflected the dreams of thousands of parents and guardians of children. The authority received thousands of messages from parents expressing their joy and gratitude.
Searches were carried out in various places such as Ulloor Medical College, Pulayanarkotta, Aakkulam, Keshavadasapuram and Pattom, all within the Municipal Corporation limits.
Corporation employees demolished and removed the bunks where narcotics were sold. The Mayor supervised the operations. The target group of those ‘traders’ was schoolchildren; hence, they had established their businesses near schools.
Quite often, drugs were sold under the cover of lottery ticket sales. Old lottery tickets were displayed in the bunks declared as lottery vendors. Several types of packeted drugs were confiscated from such bunks. All such bunks were demolished and removed from the city by the Health Department of the Municipal Corporation.
Mayor V.V. Rajesh said that the drug mafia would be rooted out from the city. He said there are mafias in the city selling outlawed tobacco products. There are people who sell drugs to children in the form of sweets. The searches are being carried out with the help of the state government.
The Mayor said there would be no compromise with drug peddlers who sell drugs under the cover of lottery tickets. Stringent action will be taken against them in the days to come.
