Drug crisis escalates, families face emotional ruin

What seemed like a routine arrest last week in Kangra district took a shocking turn when a woman caught with approximately 7 grams of chitta (heroin) told police she had purchased the drug for her addicted son as she could not see her son suffering. This is not an isolated case, countless families of drug addicts across Himachal Pradesh face devastating consequences, from financial ruin to emotional trauma.

According to the police, many drug addicts turn to petty crimes such as theft, frequently stealing items from their own homes to fund their addiction. A father, speaking on condition of anonymity, shared how his young son became addicted to chitta during his college years. He said his wife suffered immense emotional distress, often crying for hours after seeing their son under the influence. “We were helpless. We tried sending him to rehabilitation centres and spent lakhs of rupees hoping he would recover. But our initial efforts yielded no results and it was deeply traumatic for us,” he said.

Such incidents highlight the urgent need to tackle the rising drug menace in the state. It is not only the lives of those addicted to drugs that are being destroyed, but their families are equally affected, losing their savings and living in constant worry about their future.

In a worrying trend, Himachal Pradesh, during the first nine months of 2025 had witnessed a 28.2 per cent rise in chitta-related Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases as compared to last year. The police have seized around 10.92 kg of chitta during this period.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s recent announcement, in which he vowed to wipe out chitta from the state, has set the hopes high for such families. During a high-level meeting, the Chief Minister declared that the government would launch a decisive battle against the drug, with a comprehensive, multi-level campaign to be organised over the next three months.

As part of this initiative, on November 15, Himachal Pradesh Police organised an Anti-Chitta Awareness Walkathon at The Ridge in Shimla. The event saw thousands of participants from the city and other parts of the state, all pledging to help make Himachal drug-free. Similar walkathons will be organised across the state in the coming days. Alongside awareness efforts, the police have intensified operations against drug networks, conducting raids to arrest drug peddlers.