Punjab: Drug addiction – This is the unanimous answer you get when you ask the residents of Sultanwind village about their problems. They are proved right when you go around the village. The team found a youth trying to sit on a bike, but he was not even able to stand properly. Shop owner Harjinder Singh said that for the last several years, successive state governments have made tall claims of eradicating the evil, but the ground situation remains the same. “This is a historical village, where Sikh Gurus visited, but you can see youths consuming drugs openly. Be it politicians or police, everyone is aware of the problem, but no one suggests a solution because they are in cahoots with the drug peddlers,” he alleged.
During the dark days of terrorism in Punjab, Sultanwind was infamous as a mini Khalistan from where many terrorists emerged. Social activist Ravinder Sultanwind said that now it is plagued with the problem of drug addiction among the youth. There have been many cases where youths have died of drug overdose. In September last year, a youth named Suraj Yadav died in the village allegedly due to drug overdose. His body was found at the house of Monu and Happy, both drug addicts. Apart from Monu and his brother Happy, the local police had also booked Sajan for culpable homicide in the incident. In June last year, an unidentified youth died due to similar reason. His body was found at the cremation ground in the village. People of the area had claimed that the victim was not from the village. He said that due to the open supply of drugs, drug addicts from other areas of the city come to the village for drug addiction.
Retired government employee Navtej Singh said that the problem has been increasing since 2002. It has also led to other health problems including HIV and hepatitis. He said that unfortunately no government has thought of tackling and eradicating this problem. He said, “Narco-terrorism has affected this historic village more than the period of terrorism. No government agency has prepared any data in this regard. The situation is alarming.” Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, MLA from Amritsar South constituency, said the Punjab government was making whole-hearted efforts to eradicate the menace. He said it will take time. The MLA said in the recently presented budget, the government has allocated funds for a survey to identify the victims. He said they were also making efforts to renovate the sports stadium in the village besides opening a de-addiction centre in the area. The area’s representative in the state assembly said the government was dealing strictly with drug peddlers.
