Islamabad (Anantnag) May 7: The Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, on Saturday called for imposition of complete ban on cultivation of poppy in south Kashmir districts.
 The Minister while chairing a review meeting of South Kashmir Range (SKR), here  expressed serious concern over alarming rise in consumption of illicit drugs in Islamabad (Anantnag) and adjoining districts, the Minister asked the police authorities to squeeze the activities of people involved in poppy cultivation and narcotics trade. “The menace of drug addiction has gripped the Valley with mostly youngsters falling into the trap. We need to put an end to this menace and crack down on poppy cultivators and drug traffickers,” he said.
 Asking the magistracy to be proactive and in the forefront to defuse emerging law-and-order situations, the Minister called upon police and civil administrations to establish closer coordination to achieve the desired results. “On occasions, issues like bad roads and lack of power and water, create law-and-order problems that can be best avoided by effective administration,” he added.
 The MoS Home also asked for speedy disposal of passport applications in a time-bound manner, adding the people should be facilitated by acting on their applications expeditiously.
 He asked the police administration to adopt more people-friendly measures so that the faith of the people on this institution increases further.
 Earlier, DIG SKR, S A Watali briefed the Minister in detail about matters pertaining to the law-and-order and general security situation in South Kashmir Range.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 8 May 2011 00:00:00 IST