What is killing the people of Punjab silently? Something more sinister than heroin. Did you say vanaspati?
Urgent intervention is required at the ground and policy levels to shift the narrative from Udta Punjab to hypertense Punjab. The viral video of a young girl snorting drugs in a police station shocked the country. (Source: YouTube screenshot) Think Punjab, and this is the first image that comes to mind. The grab is from a video that went viral and shocked the nation last year. A newly married woman is seen snorting ‘chitta’ (synthetic drugs) sitting allegedly inside a police station. The narrative of Punjab’s drug menace took a new turn implying that the drug abuse was not limited to the restricted to the typical demographic of unemployed rural youth in the state, but was rampant among the urban rich brats, spoilt college girls, bored housewives and even cops. According to the Punjab Opioid Dependence Survey 2015, conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, and AIIMS, the estimated size of the opioid-dependent population in Punjab is 2,32,856 — tran...