Team Goemkarponn
VELIM: Velim MLA Cruz Silva has written to Chief Minister and Law Minister Pramod Sawant seeking urgent intervention to curb the growing menace of drug abuse in Goa’s educational institutions, following the death of a BITS Pilani student whose autopsy confirmed the presence of narcotics.
Silva pointed out that this was the fifth student death on the BITS Goa campus in less than a year, underscoring what he described as the alarming ease of access to narcotics among students. “Even those who do not consume drugs are aware of where they can be procured, while authorities remain passive. This is a grave failure of institutional responsibility,” he stated in the letter.
The legislator reminded the Chief Minister that during the recent Monsoon Session of the Assembly, he had flagged concerns over e-cigarette usage in schools, a warning also echoed by heads of higher secondary institutions. He urged that such alerts must not be treated as routine but demand “immediate and coordinated action.”
Among the measures recommended by Silva are: targeted police investigations into drug networks near campuses, mandatory compliance audits for educational institutions under Supreme Court guidelines, compulsory drug awareness and mental health programmes, creation of student-led safety committees, and strict accountability from college administrations with quarterly reporting to the Education and Law ministries.
“As Chief Minister and Law Minister, your leadership is crucial to ensure that Goa’s youth are protected not just from external threats, but from systemic neglect. Let this memorandum serve as a call to action—not after another tragedy, but now,” Silva wrote.
