A distraught father’s plea to root out drug menace

Bakshish Singh (60) can hardly walk without a stick, having survived a major accident years ago while returning home from work. However, what truly crippled him was the untimely deaths of his three young children within a span of four years, all due to drug consumption.

He now lives in a one-room house, while his wife, Kashmir Kaur (55), works as a domestic help to make ends meet. “My two sons, Avinash Singh (24) and Ravi Singh (22), died within four months in 2016. My third son, Deepak Singh (24), died in November 2020 due to hepatitis caused by drugs,” he said. All three were labourers who fell into the deadly trap of drug addiction under the influence of their friends, he added.

“Not only this, I have also lost a cousin to this curse,” he added, accusing authorities of failing to curb the rampant drug trade. “Drugs are being sold openly and both the police and government have miserably failed to address this issue,” Bakshish Singh said.

This tragic story is not unique to one household. Many families in the border villages have suffered the same fate because of the scourge of drugs, said Harjodhbir Singh, a local resident.

The village, which once inherited the great legacy of Sham Singh Attari, a general in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is now synonymous with drugs, said Jaswinder Singh, an ex-serviceman. Thanks to the political collusion of the drug traffickers, there is no end to the menace, he added.

The village has also produced internationally acclaimed hockey players like Shamsher Singh and Jugraj Singh, who represented the country in Olympic Games.

“The police know exactly who is behind the drug supply in the area, but who will take action when political leaders are openly sheltering the smugglers?” asked another resident.

Attari, located just a couple of kilometres from the international border, has become a hotspot for narcotics smuggling, with drones regularly used to transport drugs across the border. The drugs easily find their way into the local villages.

“Sparing a thought about the rich heritage and strategic importance of this border village, the government should have announced special plans for its development and for eradicating the rampant drug abuse,” said former Panchayat member Santokh Singh. He added that this has never been the case.