Mizoram has cracked down on drugs trafficking: Governor

A total of 1,804 people have arrested and 1,959 cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition) Act, 2019 and the Mizoram Excise Act, 1973 during the current fiscal, Mizoram governor Hari Babu Kambhampati said on Wednesday.

Addressing a low-key celebration of Republic Day at Lammual here, Kambhampati said the government is concerned with the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse and has been making massive efforts to control the menace.

''A total of 1,804 people have been arrested and 1,959 cases registered in connection with drugs, alcohol and narcotics during the 2021-2022 fiscal (upto 30.11.2021), while Rs. 71.12 lakh revenue has been collected by the excise and narcotics department during the period,'' the governor said as he unfurled the national tricolour.

He said that the state police has been tirelessly combating arms smuggling, illicit drugs and narcotic substances and seized drugs and narcotics worth Rs. 51.56 crore in 2021.

Among others, the state police also seized 39 arms and 4,307 ammunitions during the same year, he said.

According to the governor, the construction of a number of barracks have been undertaken along the state border with Assam under the government flagship programme Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP) at the cost of Rs 82.66 lakh since last year.

The governor said that the dreaded African Swine Fever (ASF), which was first reported in south Mizoram's Lunglei district in March last year, has so far claimed 29,821 pigs affecting at least 9,461 families across all 11 districts.

He said that 10,381 pigs have been culled and a petition for compensation amounting to Rs. 11.69 crore has been submitted to the Centre for the culled pigs.

The outbreak has however more or less been contained, he said.

He said that the resilient efforts of the state government supplemented by the tireless service rendered by the churches, NGOs, civil society and all frontline workers have together aided in mitigating the impact of COVID-19.

Republic day was celebrated in all parts of the state except in Champhai, where deputy commissioner and a few officials held flag hoisting programme due to strike called by NGOs to protest the transfer of the deputy commissioner.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)