'Goa government has not done much to fight drug menace'

Panaji, June 8 IANS) The BJP-led government in Goa has not done much to rein in the drug menace, especially amongst students, in the coastal state, Amogh Arlekar, Joint Secretary of the ABVP for Konkan and Goa said on Wednesday.

"To say bluntly, the government has done very little," Arlekar said.

Arlekar also said the very fact that a few students from the Goa Engineering College (GEC) in the village of Farmagudi, 30 km east of Panaji, were arrested for possession of drugs last month, meant that the drug menace was a grave issue.

"There were some students in GEC who were caught having drugs. So from that you can come to know it is quite severe. (When) there are campuses which have drugs being traded, I think it becomes a severe thing," Arlekar said.

Arlekar was addressing a press conference in Panaji to announce the launch of a statewide survey by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad to find out how many students drop out of schools and colleges in Goa's tourism belt as well as those whose parents work in the ailing mining sector.

The ABVP is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The student leader's comment comes two weeks after State Minister for Art and Culture Dayanand Mandrekar alleged that drugs were being openly sold in colleges and other educational institutions.

--IANS

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