Officials of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the counsellors observed that the number of school-going girls addicted to ganja, alcohol and smoking was on the rise in Vijayawada and its ourskirts.
Machavaram police said as the girls were creating panic, went uncontrolled, and did not pay heed to their parents, they were produced before the CWC with the consent of their parents.
“During the enquiry, it was revealed that the girls were allegedly moving with ganja-addicted gangs and vagabonds at odd hours, creating nuisance in the locality. A 17-year-old boy, who was moving with the minor girls was taken into custody and was shifted to Observation Home for Boys,” CWC Chairperson K. Suvartha said.
“This might make one’s blood creep. But, it is a fact that many minors, particularly girls, are addicted to ganja (Marijuana) in Vijayawada. We are getting such cases frequently and counselling is being given to the minors,” the CWC members said.
“The girls shouted at us and created ruckus at the CWC. With great difficulty, we counselled them and shifted them to a Child Care Institution (CCI), located at Krishnalanka a few days ago,” CWC member Y. Bhargava Ram said.
“The two girls, along with another inmate, tried to escape from the CCI by jumping the main gate. When we tried to catch all the three girls, they bit our hands, two of them escaped and one was caught. Later, the two girls were traced at Secunderabad after two days, and all the girls were handed over to their parents,” the home staff said.
“In September, two minor girls who were under the influence of alcohol were brought to the CWC. The girls argued that consuming alcohol was not a mistake and they urged to release them,” another CWC member C. Radha Kumari said.
Police Commissioner Kanthi Rana Tata who checks the deserted places said, “After the Repalle gang rape incident that occurred in May this year, special teams have been formed at the Commissionerate, to keep anti-social elements, ganja- and blade-batch gangs at bay.”
“We have identified black spots [where the ganja- and blade-batch offenders and vagabonds were assembling] — near railway tracks, under the bridges and deserted places along the river bund. Patrolling has been intensified and raids are being conducted on black spots,” an officer of Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) said.
Residents of Nunna, Singh Nagar, One Town, Kothapeta, Gunadala, Machavaram, Governorpet and other areas urge the Excise-, SEB- and Police officials to check ganja peddling as more children are getting addicted to alcohol and drugs, spoiling their lives.
