The Srinagar Padyatra must mark a turning point in Kashmir’s united war against drugs and networks that profit from ruined lives

• RK News
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• 03 May 2026

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The mega Padyatra to be held in Srinagar today under the Nasha Mukht J&K Abhiyaan is far more than a ceremonial public event. It is an unmistakable declaration that Jammu and Kashmir is ready to take its battle against drug abuse out of conference rooms and into the streets, institutions, and public conscience. With over 35,000 participants expected to join, the march reflects both the scale of the crisis and the urgency of the response. That such a massive mobilisation is being prepared through a coordinated administrative effort shows that the campaign is being treated with the seriousness it deserves. The details emerging from the official preparations are significant. This is not a token awareness programme. It is being built as a broad public intervention, with route management, medical support, pledge ceremonies, awareness videos, cultural programmes, and citizen participation designed to send a strong, unmistakable message. The stated objective is clear: to create mass awareness, build social resistance to addiction, and dismantle the networks involved in drug peddling. That objective is both timely and necessary. Drug abuse is not merely a health issue. It is a social emergency that eats into families, corrupts neighbourhoods, derails youth, and fuels criminal economies. It weakens the moral and social fabric of society from within. Kashmir, which has already endured deep wounds over decades, cannot afford another silent devastation, especially one that targets its young generation. It is in this context that Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s role stands out as firm, focused, and exemplary. He has repeatedly made it clear that the fight against drugs will not be limited to rhetoric. Launching the 100-day Nasha Mukt Jammu Kashmir Abhiyaan on April 11, 2026, he warned that drug peddlers “will not be spared”. He backed that warning with concrete punitive measures, including the cancellation of passports and Aadhaar cards, the attachment or confiscation of property, the freezing of bank accounts, and the public identification of top peddlers to create deterrence. He has also directed police to prepare lists of top drug peddlers in every police station and ordered that these networks be dismantled within 30 days.  Furthermore, he has given a stern warning to drug peddlers by saying that the menace of drug abuse should be regarded as silent terrorism, not simply a legal or policing concern. The narcotics trade functions like concealed terror, harming the youth, weakening households, and corroding society at its roots. This is the language of seriousness, not symbolism. It conveys a zero-tolerance approach toward those who poison society for profit. LG has also linked the narcotics trade to broader threats, warning of a drug-terror nexus and describing the anti-drug campaign as a mass movement essential to wiping out the drug nexus in the valley. The LG’s actions suggest that this resolve is already translating into enforcement. By April 30, 2026, authorities had arrested 440 drug peddlers or traffickers and registered around 350 FIRs during the early phase of the crackdown. The Srinagar Padyatra must therefore be seen for what it truly is: not a one-day march, but a moral and civic call to action. Government action is indispensable, but no campaign can succeed without society’s participation. Parents, teachers, clerics, community elders, religious leaders, students, law-enforcement agencies, and civil society must all become stakeholders in this fight. The time to act is now, and the message must be firm: this society will fight back, and it will fight to win. The message now must be unwavering: there can be compassion for victims of addiction, but there must be no mercy for drug peddlers. Kashmir must rise with unity, vigilance, and courage to reclaim its future from this poison.