Amritsar: Drug issue remains elusive in poll-time promises, speeches

PK Jaiswar

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Amritsar, February 11

The drug menace, which was a prominent issue during the 2017 Assembly poll, has not even been touched during public speeches, let alone including them in the manifestos of political parties.

Ignoring the issue and inaction in sacrilege cases were among major reasons for the ouster of the SAD-BJP government in Punjab. Nevertheless, the issue did not get even a single mention in speeches of political leaders during campaigning and public meetings in their respective areas.

The current dispensation may claim to have taken stringent measures and nailed drug peddlers and initiated steps for weaning away youth from drugs, the situation at the ground was still grim.

Deputy Medical Commissioner Dr Gurmeet Kaur said, “The district has around 14 OAAT (outpatient opioid assisted treatment) centres where around 15,000 to 20,000 addicts are getting treatment. Besides, hundreds of patients are also getting treatment at different de-addiction centres.”

“Not only drug problem, various other issues concerning the common man has conveniently been given a miss during the campaigning or rallies held in the run-up to the assembly election. The personal attacks on each other has taken over public issues,” said Dr Parminder, a former Guru Nanak Dev University professor and trust member of Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Committee at Jalandhar. He lives in the area that falls under Amritsar West Constituency.

The problem stemmed from unemployment and economic crisis in the border state that was unleased due to anti-people policies of consecutive governments in Punjab.

“Illegal drug and liquor trade is flourishing in the state due to a nexus between politicians, higher bureaucracy and police department. When a peddler is nabbed with a minor quantity of drug, he fails to get any bail for years while when a politician is booked, he gets bails from courts within days. Who would then nail big sharks who actually donate huge funds during elections,” he pointed out.

Not only Congress, but every political party has put these public issues, including drug menace, on the back burner either due to vested interest or their inability to bust the deep-rooted drug and liquor nexus patronized by political outfits, said a former banker, Anil Vinayak, who lives in the Amritsar North constituency where several areas are facing the menace.

Sarabjit Singh Verka, who is an activist of Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), pointed out that like illegal sand mining, drug peddlers were also patronised by politicians. Successive governments, have failed to curb the menace.