Punjab: Punjab has remained a safe haven for drug peddlers and smugglers for the past several years. According to data, though the drug recovery increased by five times during the four years of Congress govt in the state, supply remained unaffected. The efforts of the state govt to curb the menace seem to have failed.
Speaking on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit trafficking, Zonal Director of Narcotics Control Bureau Chandigarh, Gyanendra Kumar Singh said that all kinds of expensive drugs like heroin, cocaine, smack, synthetic drugs, ice drugs including opium and bhukki are common in the state. "Punjab being a border state, drugs are smuggled from abroad. Drugs are usually smuggled through Pakistan and the intoxicants from Iran and Afghanistan," he said.
Dr Pramod Kumar explained that drug abusers had queued up at various de-addiction centres during the lockdown as they were unable to buy drugs and were facing withdrawal symptoms. The reason behind the drug prices having skyrocketed during the period was that the drug peddlers found it difficult to smuggle leading to a snap in the supply chain. He said that this problem will be solved only when the youth are able to discern between what is good and bad, adding that self-control is key.
What the data says
According to the data available with the Narcotics Control Bureau, as many as 5102 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 between January 1, 2021, and June 22, 2021, and 6,813 people were held in connection with these cases.
A consignment of 464 kg of heroin seized by the Punjab police in the year 2019 is the highest recovered till date. Drug recovery from March 2017 has expanded five times which was 19 kg in the year 2016 and has gone up to 464 kg by 2019. The seizure of heroin was 19 kg in 2016, 207 kg in 2017, 410 kg in 2018 and 464 kg in 2019. The number of deaths due to drug overdose in Punjab has come down to 47 in 2019 as against 114 in 2018.
In the year 2017, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in his election campaign had said that he would eliminate drugs in 4 weeks and in order to fulfill that promise, the Captain Government formed a Special Task Force to crack down on drug dealers. Many operations were carried out in the state with the collaboration of the Narcotics Control Bureau. Even the BSF played a crucial role in the recovery of drugs during joint operations. Talking about cases, in the last 5 years, the Special Task Force had registered many cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS).
Drugs are not only a major social problem in Punjab, but also play a pivotal role in state politics. Even as the government makes tall claims, the reality on the ground looks different. The situation in the state is such that if one has money, then drugs are easily available even in de-addiction centres. Hence, state governments should not only focus on the recovery of drugs but also take efforts to break the supply chain and run awareness among youth and families to save future generations.
