BHADERWAH,NOV 27 (KNO) : Hundreds of enraged residents and students of various educational institutions gathered on Doda Bhaderwah road on various locations to lodge their protest against the death of a young boy due to overdose of drugs .People’s and students anger against the failure of the authorities to check the drug menace can be gauged from the protest because it was for the first time they had taken to streets and roads against drug abuse in Bhaderwah .Drug abuse is taking the lives of youth in the Bhaderwah . Families, fearing social stigma, used to keep it under wraps, but they are finally running out of patience, said a protester Mehran Farooq Wani .“Drugs consumed the life of my friend , but I want to save other children from substance abuse so we were demanding that the drug peddler nexus in Bhaderwah sub district must be broken,” another protester Mehboob Ahmed of Chaka Bhaderwah alleged .“Due to the social stigma, people are not coming forward to disclose the cause of the death but it is a reality that deaths due to drugs are going on unabated in this region,” he further claimed and demanded strict action against drug peddlers . “It is an alarming situation. During the last one year, the recovery of drugs has increased manifold and so have the cases registered against the drug mafia but reports of deaths due to this menace continue to pour in,” Abrar Sheikh and Azhar Butt said . They alleged that drugs business was flourishing in Bhaderwah because of the nexus between drug peddlers and some people ."The situation is grave. Deaths are occurring due to drug abuse. It's time for the government to act," they said .Students of Govt Hr Sec School boys and girls along with some private schools also organised protest and demonstration against drugs peddlers outside their schools . It is notable to mention here that they smoke it, sniff it, eat it, inject it and temporarily escape into a deceptive world.Be it a way to fight personal crisis, means to wipe the mental scars or just a sign of being cool, the youth in Chenab belt have fallen into the net of drugs, with such cases increasing by 35-40 per cent in the last few years.(KNO)