Opinion | Kashmir’s 3 Major Concerns : Unemployment, Drugs and Crime 

When the name ‘Kashmir’ is heard, it reminds us of picturesque beauty, lush green meadows, mesmerizing tulips and snow capped mountains. But behind the scenes, there is a horror story cooking.

The unemployment rate of Kashmir is touching sky with every passing day. According to a report published by the Centre For Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in March 2023, the unemployment rate of J&K is 23.1% which is third highest in India after Haryana and Rajasthan.
This growing unemployment rate puts the youth in depression and to overcome it, they get involved in drug abuse. Though the government is doing its best to reduce unemployment rate, it needs to fasten things by providing entrepreneurships and creating job opportunities in sectors like IT, Tourism etc.
The unemployment is one of the main causes of surging drug addiction in the valley. Kashmir has surpassed Punjab in 2023 in terms of drug abuse and it is becoming the drug capital of India.
According to a survey conducted by the Department of Mental Health and Neurosciences Kashmir which says that most of the drug abusers are in the age group of 17-33 years. The survey also claims that over 33 thousand syringes are used to inject heroin by these drug addicts in Kashmir on a daily basis which is worrying stat. While the import of drugs mainly comes from our neighboring country, the central government should carry out a massive crackdown along the LOC to control the inflow of drugs like cocaine, heroin, cannabis etc into the valley. The local police is doing a commendable job to curb this vicious flow of drugs by arresting many drug mafias and booking them under Public Safety Act.
A single drug addict consumes heroin and cannabis at an average amount of 98 thousand rupees monthly according to the same report mentioned above. Now the question is where does the money come to them? Surely, the parents won’t give money for a bad cause to their children. The craving for heroin of an addict forces him to indulge in criminal activities like robbery, murdering, kidnapping etc. We are witnessing many crimes in Kashmir day in, day out, be it the drug addict from Sopore who killed his mother, the person who chopped the body of an innocent lady into pieces in Budgam, a baker (drug addict) from Pahalgam who killed three persons including his mother or the boy from Anantnag who killed his mother just to loot money from her possession.
We need to wake up our consciousness else we will regret being born in the valley. Village level awareness campaigns regarding the impact of drugs on society and the drug abuser himself should be organized. The parents also need to educate their children regarding the relationship of drug abuse and growing crime and its impact on the family itself. The Police must tighten its belt and work to make Kashmir drug free. It is upto the natives of the valley to decide which version of Kashmir they want to see in near future (Crime and drug free Paradise or Crime and drug hotspot?). Wake up before it is too late.

– The writer can be reached at mirharoon208@gmail.com