Drug epidemic leaves Punjab in Danger.

From Ferozepur to Maqboolpura, a locality in Amritsar where most families have lost their men to drugs, the malaise of substance abuse is shredding Punjab’s social fabric and no one seems to know where a solution lies.

For rajbir kaur, who lost her husband to drug addiction about 10 years ago, life is very hard for her. After his death, she struggled to bring up her only son by washing people’s clothes and utensils, little knowing that another tragedy waited round the corner. Her son Gurdip Singh, who was in his twenties, died following drug abuse related complications last year. “I have nowhere to go now. My son was my only hope and he too has met the same fate as his father,” wails Kaur, who is illiterate.

After bearing the brunt of terrorism for over a decade, Punjab is today battling the more dangerous enemy i.e. Drug Addiction.

Falling on the drug route that begins in the poppy fields of Afghanistan—which produces 90 per cent of the world’s opiate—easy access to narcotics compounds the problem.

From heroin and opium to barbiturates, cough syrup and alcohol, everything is available freely.

A survey by a government department late last year suggested that as many as 67 percent of rural households in Punjab had at least one drug addict in the family. Worse, there is at least two death due to drug overdose each week.

It also revealed that most drug addicts belong to the 16 to35 age group, indicating the high vulnerability of young people in the border belt.

Till recently, the impact of crack and smack had been more evident in the border areas where unemployment and poor educational standards are the norm, but its spread to other areas now has meant the state is sitting on a proverbial time bomb.

A 14-year-old’s casual observation brings home the grim truth. “No one in our school told us that substance abuse is harmful. In fact, most of our teachers consume postt (heroin derivative), alcohol, tobacco and nicotine,” says a school-goer from the remote border village in Amritsar, his very nonchalance revealing how deep the rot runs.

In Tarn Taran, more than half the youth are into smack, herion and injectable abuse. Needless to say, unemployment is high and education has long taken a backseat. Some village elders claim they have fallen into the abuse due to extreme frustration as they failed to find jobs after completing their matriculation.

On the other end of the economic spectrum, a Practising Dentist in Amritsar had to go through the agony of divorce and losing custody of his only son because he could not give up Substance Abuse.

In the border areas of Punjab, 44.3 per cent of drug addicts are less than 25 years old and most are illiterate. According to a study by the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC), around 65 per cent of the addicts “DO” drugs twice a day.

Dr Rana Ranbir Singh who runs a De-Addiction Centre at Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran says he treats more than 50 patients per day: “It is just not the Farmers or Poor or Unemployed who are taking drugs. Even educated youths who are excellent in studies are doing it. I have got gold medallists from universities as well as national and international players coming to me for rehab.”

He adds, “They were doing well in academics, so their families never suspect anything. They get a shock when they come to know about it. Caught in the drug trap, the victims also veer towards sex addiction and gambling and betting.”

What is proving to be a bane for Punjab is its geographical proximity to Afghanistan. The drug seizure figures tell their own story. Every day, 14 cases are registered on an average and 16 people are booked under the NDPS Act in the state.

 “The heroin, which originates in the Golden Crescent in trouble-torn Afghanistan, where cultivation of poppy is a national ritual, makes its way to Punjab first through Pakistan. It then goes to Delhi and Mumbai from where it reaches the Middle East and Europe to cater to the demands abroad.

Apparently worried by the threat posed by drugs to the state, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal requested Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to check smuggling of heroin from his country to the state during a recent visit.

On its part, the government has taken some steps to combat the scourge. Principal Secretary (Health) of Punjab Vinni Mahajan says, “We are working on creating a data base of drug addicts and have commissioned a survey by ICMR and working with PGI in this regard.”