Tarn Taran Diary: DSP says Patti sub-jail drug-free, OOAT centre downgraded
A letter written by Amar Singh, Superintendent, Sub-Jail, Patti in Tarn Taran district, is sufficient to know the real picture of the drug menace. The letter has also explained how the inmates manage to get drugs despite the tight security in prisons. Amar Singh, PPS, who is of the rank of DSP (Jail), recently wrote an official letter to the Additional Director General of Police (Jails) {a copy of the letter is with this correspondent} in which he has claimed that with his own efforts, he has made the jail complex drug-free. He has hung a poster at the jail gate in this regard. He said at the time of his joining office on September 1, 2024, there were a total 231 inmates in the jail and of these, 70 were registered patients of drugs and were taking Buprenorphine (zinc or aluminum phosphate) tablet from the OOAT centre in jail premises. He added that through his personal observation, it was noticed that there were as many as 60 more addicts who used to manage drugs for themselves through one or the other method using theft-hole (chor mories). He has written in the letter that there are elements in the jail that are not addicts themselves but are involved in smuggling drugs in jails and their links in the administration cannot be ruled out. The officer in his letter has mentioned that it has become a phenomenon among the young generation to aspire to become rich within days by adopting illegal methods too. He said that he made up his mind to make the jail complex drug-free and started his campaign. He made personal efforts by counselling the addicts and motivating them to kick drugs by getting busy in sports or meditation. He said that in the initial stage, he faced opposition not from the inmates lodged in jail but from the elements outside who after the completion of their sentence had left the jail.
Crime situation worrisome
The crime situation in the area has become worrisome. The Chabal police recently arrested a minor boy (juvenile) from the area with an illegal weapon. He was from Amritsar district and had come to deliver the weapon to a contact. He was given the consignment by an unknown person. He was to receive some ‘contribution’ for this illegal act. In another incident, the Verowal police arrested two motorcycle-borne persons, including a juvenile with a sword from the area. The SHO said that the accused were busy in looting commuters. The police have also arrested women involved in drug trade. The worrisome situation deserves special attention of the government and the administration.
Defunct Tiranga lights
The Municipal Council, Tarn Taran, initiated a move to beautify the town by installing Tiranga lights on the poles of street-lights on the main road in city. But most Tiranga lights have become non-functional days after their installation. The Executive Officer (EO) of the Municipal Council informed that on the main road of the town, more than 100 Tiranga lights are to be installed. The EO informed that one such light costs Rs 1,200. After the second day of the installation of lights, nearly half the lights became non-functional. From Chabal-Amritsar bypass to the Kasur drain where 60 lights have been installed, 40 have gone defunct till date, in a three-week period. Despite the beautification drive, the glitches raise queries over their effective implementation. Contributed by Gurbaxpuri
