Punjab’s drugs scourge: Why political rhetoric is not enough

New Delhi/Gurdaspur: Looking at the siblings Balwinder (19) and Harjinder (17) (names changed), it’s hard to imagine that a few months ago their parents had given up all hope of seeing them alive. But today, their father, an inter-state truck driver with frugal means, is happy to have his teenage sons back home safe. “The de-addiction centre helped my sons recover from drug addiction. I lost two of my cousins in the village to drug abuse as they never got proper treatment,” he shares. [caption id=“attachment_1509545” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of Punjab Police officials with four kilograms of high grade heroin which they seized at a market in Amritsar. AFP[/caption] Not many in the state are as lucky. The drugs menace is truly serious in Punjab and it’s slowly destroying a generation of young people. It had its due prominent place in the poll campaign of all parties, however, as locals complain, the political noise over the issue does not mean much; nothing substantial follows in terms of concrete action. (Somewhere between chasing BJP’s star candidate from Gurdaspur Vinod Khanna and being startled at how easily drugs were available in this town, this reporter was offered a black harmless looking ball wrapped in cellophane without even asking for it. It turned out be opium. He visited the Red Cross Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts – the only legal drugs de-addiction centre in Gurdaspur, near village Babbehali.) Close proximity to India-Pakistan border, lack of strict enforcement of law and alleged patronage of politicians have made Gurdaspur, a city with a rich historical legacy, fertile ground for drug trafficking and addiction. The city known for its association with the likes of Mughal emperor Akbar, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, prominent Sikh gurus, Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Govind Singh and Guru Hargobind, now acts as a passage for drug movement from Pakistan to other parts of the country. Name any drug — from cocaine, heroin smuggled from the Golden Crescent across the border to indigenous synthetic drugs from injectable drugs like morphine to relatively cheaper poppy husk, known locally as ‘Bhukki’ — it is found here. Provided you ask the right man and pay the right price. The peddler may be a rickshaw-puller, an auto-driver, a paan-wallah, a mechanic, a lottery-ticket seller or an unemployed youth trying to make a quick buck to pay for his own dope. Amid young patients (drug addicts) sitting at the OPD of the Red Cross Centre with blank looks, some writhing in pain accompanied by their guardians on whose faces look of despair and helplessness is apparent, Neel Chopra (32) awaits his turn to get counselled. “I was hooked to smack. We, a group of 3 to 4 co-addicts, used to contribute and buy one gram of smack at Rs 1100-1200, and prepare 5 to 6 shots out of it and sell it to bear our cost,” he shares. After consuming drugs for two years, Chopra is now able to resist his temptation. “I have been coming here for the last six months and it has helped me say no to drugs.” He reveals that falling prey to drugs is easy in Gurdaspur and other parts of Punjab, especially when one is frustrated like Chopra, who faced losses in his auto-parts business due to recession. “The poor and unemployed are pushed into drug peddling. Neither any political party nor the administration has done anything to the curb drug menace, which is growing multi-fold,” Romesh Mahajan, project director, Red Cross Centre says. “In last 10 years, we’ve de-addicted nearly 28,000 patients,” claims Mahajan. What could be more alarming and appalling for a district with a population of nearly 23 lakh is that 70% of its youth are drug addicts or 67% inhabitants of the population are such that at least one member of the family is on dope? Out of 10 college students, seven take one or the other drug, a government data shows. Deaths of 89 youths from drug abuse in just two years at Gandhi refugee camp in Batala block of Gurdaspur with a population of 17,000 is enough to sum up the severity of the situation. In March-April, the Border Security Force seized Rs 600 crore worth drugs along Punjab-Pak border, of which 95% was heroine. In Punjab, 32 crore bottles of liquor are consumed per annum, and it provides a hefty revenue for the government. “Locals can’t afford heroine as it is expensive, so they go for synthetic drugs and poppy husk. Heroine is sold in metros and even rich youths between 18-25 years of age come from Chandigarh to collect it. In the last 20 years, the consumption pattern has changed and now it’s more for synthetic and new types of narcotics,” a doctor shares on condition of anonymity. Lack of policy and absence of government initiative to curb the menace, lack of political will, absence of proper educational and medical facilities, poor infrastructure, crumbling industries and no employment opportunity have led to severe frustration among the youth and ultimately they find solace in drugs. The police-politician-drug mafia nexus is evident from the confession of a dismissed deputy superintendent of police and wrestler-turned-international drug peddler Jagdish Bhola, who named one of the top ministers in the Punjab government among those involved in the flourishing drugs racket. Last month, former DGP Shashi Kant quoting an intelligence report named a few political leaders from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) involved in the drug racket. While BJP’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi during his visit to Amritsar had alleged that drugs were smuggled from across the neighbouring country, Amritsar’s Congress candidate Captain Amarinder Singh, pointing fingers at SAD, had questioned, “Is it possible to manufacture synthetic drugs within Punjab, without government patronage?”