theencounter
Increasing threats from yaba
The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed yesterday in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world when yaba is creating havoc with life among the young generation of the country. It is still more disconcerting that 80 per cent of the people addicted to this drug are students. On the other hand, the use of this drug that mostly comes from the neighbouring Myanmanr is increasing in great volume with each passing year.
According to a report of a vernacular daily, about four crores of yaba tablets were used to be bought and sold in 2010 in Bangladesh. After five years in 2014 this figure stood at 28 crores. This means that during the last five years use of yaba registered a sevenfold increase. And if this trend cannot be halted now after some years every household in the country will have one or more yaba addicts. According to experts, a sexually stimulating substance, yaba over time destroys the sexual potency of its users.
Tally of seizure of this tablet also appeared in the yesterdays reports. In 2009 law enforcing agencies seized a total of one lakh and 29 thousand tablets; in 2014 this figure was 65 lakhs and 12 thousands. Almost everyday we come by news of seizure of yaba, but the fact of the matter is the amount of seizure is very little compared to actual number of tablets used by the addicts in the country.
To stop use of yaba, therefore, it is as much important to increase vigilance activities of law enforcers particularly along the border of Myanmar, as it is important to bring to a halt yaba production at the source. In Mayanmar close to the border of Bangladesh there are dozens of factories that produce this tablet targeting its swiftly burgeoning market in Bangladesh. The government of Myanmar knows about their existence and in the past flag meetings with the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB), its Border Guard Police (BGP) promised to conduct joint drive to destroy these factories. But up until now BGP never took an initiative like this. Yet this joint drive is very important to stop trafficking of yaba into Bangladesh.
Against this backdrop, Bangladesh mission in Myanmar has to be very serious about the matter and try all its diplomatic skill to convince Myanmar government about the extent of yaba abuse in Bangladesh so that such joint drive can be effectively conducted. On the other hands, the law enforcers have to be more proactive to halt yaba smuggling along the border.
