*Drug seizures expose failure of coalition’s 100-day promise: Are Syamala*

Tadepalli, October 8: YSRCP spokesperson Are Syamala accused the coalition government of failing to curb the transport of ganja and drugs, and demanded that Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha explain what happened to her promise to eliminate ganja within 100 days.

Speaking at the party’s central office in Tadepalli, Syamala said the government was making announcements while drugs continued to reach young people. She criticised the Home Minister for focusing on television shows and publicity instead of controlling drug networks and addressing crimes against women.

Syamala cited recent seizures: six litres of liquid ganja worth Rs 75 lakh in Gokavaram on August 27; 600 kg of ganja worth Rs 3 crore in Anakapalli on September 4; MDMA near Visakhapatnam on September 17; liquid ganja worth Rs 1.34 crore in Alluri district on September 27; and 43 litres of hash oil worth Rs 5.5 crore near Koduru Junction in Anakapalli on September 28. She also cited an October 8 seizure of MDMA and hash oil in Visakhapatnam.

She condemned the reported discovery of ganja and liquor bottles in a police vehicle near Sankaravarappadu in Prakasam district, and questioned the delay in the police response.

According to the state’s EAGLE website, she said, 2,444 cases had been registered, 6,332 people arrested, and more than 607,000 kg of ganja seized. She asked why ministers denied the scale of the problem.

Syamala said the previous YSRCP government had curbed 90 per cent of ganja cultivation through Operation Parivartana, while supporting tribal farmers with alternative crops. She demanded details on absconding accused, pending warrants, financiers and drug sales near colleges and hostels, and called for action against the entire network.