Gurdaspur Diary: Deeda Sansian village takes fancy to Pablo Escobar

Residents of Deeda Sansian village very well know the meaning of the phrase — you can get the monkey off your back but the circus will never leave the town. The hamlet has gained infamy for the fact that every second household is into selling drugs. Interestingly, no one in the area consumes drugs. They just sell the dope, make a profit, buy more and sell again. The Deeda Sansian circus has been going on for decades. In one instance, four generations have been into peddling drugs. Three generations are common. The nearby hamlet of Awankha is Deeda’s first cousin. Here too, the contraband is sold openly. Villagers know the rules of the game. They are secure in the knowledge that if they are caught with a small quantity of drugs, the lax excise laws will come to their rescue. Conversely, if they are caught with a large dose, they are liable to be prosecuted under the stringent NDPS Act. Hence, they always keep a small quantity while the larger one is hidden somewhere on the outskirts. Last week, IG (Border range) Mohnish Chawla decided to take things head-on. He led a team and raided the village. Insiders say a good two hours before the IG was scheduled to arrive, the villagers got a whiff of his visit. By the time the officer stepped into the village, lo and behold, Deeda was as clean as a slate. Not even a gram of dope was found despite the fact that the raids were all encompassing and intense in nature. A peddler claimed that the cops can do whatever they want to but they will continue “to serve society” by selling dope. “We have been in this business for the last 60 years. We do not know any other trade. What will we do if we stop our business,” asked a villager. These people have a strong network of informers. The sense of comradeship among them, too, is quite strong. They keep fighting with each other over the spoils but when they are confronted with an outsider, in this case the cops, they display a strong sense of unity. “I came to Deeda just to see the village, how it looks and to study how generations have been into the drug business. Days later, I ended up as an addict,” said one hooked to drugs earlier. Here, people are loath to go to worship at religious places. They have one God. And his name is Pablo Escobar, the legendary Colombian drug lord, who once said, “I am a decent man. I only export flowers.” In Deeda, there is an elephant in every living room. The problem is they do not want it to leave their place.

Union minister Arjun Ram Mehgwal comes calling

A few weeks ago, Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi came calling. Yesterday, her colleague Arjun Ram Mehgwal, who holds the portfolio of parliamentary affairs and culture, was in town. He held a couple of meetings with the BJP cadre. This assumes significance as the party has been pushed into a corner following the prolonged absence of incumbent MP Sunny Deol. Later in the day, he presided over a review meeting of Centrally sponsored welfare schemes. Normally, the incumbent MP presides over such meetings but in the absence of Deol, Meghwal had to step into the actor’s shoes. Insiders say since Deol will not be contesting the 2024 polls, Meghwal was here to test the waters. He has done it and one thing that clearly emerged was that the party will not be fielding a celebrity. Deol has indeed queered the pitch for the BJP. There were rumours that actress Kangana Ranaut may be asked by the high command to contest but with the wind blowing steadfastly against a celebrity, the BJP think tank has dropped her name. Moreover, local leaders pointed out that Ranaut’s utterances against Punjabi farmers during the protests against the three agriculture bills are sure to take the party down. The guessing game is still on. ”

(Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal)

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