Open house: What else should be done to free Punjab of drug menace?
To effectively free Punjab from drug menace, a multi-faceted approach is necessary. Here are some key strategies which can be adopted in this regard: Continue to crack down on drug lords and their illegal operations, as seen in the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” initiative. This should include increased surveillance, intelligence gathering and targeted raids. Punjab’s drug problem is deeply rooted in socio-economic issues such as unemployment and poverty. Initiatives focused on job creation, education and skilldevelopment can help reduce the appeal of drugs among the youth. Establishing effective rehabilitation centres and providing access to quality healthcare can help those struggling with addiction. This should include counselling, medication-assisted treatment and peer support groups. Launching public awareness campaigns can help educate people about the dangers of drug abuse and the importance of seeking help. This can include workshops, seminars and media campaigns. Encourage community participation and collaboration with local organisations, NGOs and religious institutions to create a collective response to drug menace. Advocate policy reforms that address the root causes of drug abuse such as poverty, unemployment and lack of education. This can include initiatives like crop diversification, vocational training and social welfare programmes. By adopting a comprehensive approach that addresses social, economic and health aspects of the drug problem, Punjab can make significant progress in its fight against this menace.
Jaspreet Kaur
Create supportive environment
Drug addiction is a serious condition that affects thousands of individuals and society, resulting in physical, emotional and social problems. Experts define drug dependence as a psychological and, sometimes, physical state characterised by a compulsion to take a drug primarily for the psychological effects rather than for medical purposes. The effects of addiction can devastate people’s lives, causing broken relationships and poor health. However, addiction can be overcome through a combination of methods. The first step is to seek professional help, whether through therapy, counselling or rehabilitation facilities. Second, family members and friends of the addict must step forward to offer encouragement and create a supportive environment. Preventive measures such as education and early intervention are also essential to reduce drug use. Encouragement initiatives like “Yudh Nashian Virudh” can also help addicts overcome addiction by focusing on treatment, building a strong support network and committing to long-term recovery, allowing them to rebuild their lives.
Novin Christopher
More actions needed for drug-free Punjab
Demolishing illegal properties of drug lords is a strong step, but more actions are needed to make Punjab drug-free. First, strict surveillance should be maintained in high-risk areas and the police must track and arrest suppliers quickly. Drug rehabilitation centres should be expanded, offering free treatment and counselling to addicts. Schools and colleges must educate students about the harmful effects of drugs through awareness programmes. Youths should be given better career opportunities, sports facilities and skill-development programmes to keep them engaged in positive activities. Families must openly discuss addiction issues to prevent their loved ones from falling into this trap. Anonymous helplines should be available for reporting drug peddlers without fear. Most importantly, society must unite against drugs, encouraging community efforts to protect the younger generation. A combination of strict law enforcement, education and support for addicts can help Punjab win the war on drugs.
Prabhjot Singh
Promote skill development
Punjab’s border with the Golden Crescent, a hub of heroin production comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, has contributed to the state’s ongoing battle against drug abuse. To deliver a final blow to drug trafficking, the state police have started a crusade to snap supply lines and put drug peddlers behind bars, besides confiscating their properties. About a year ago, the STF had arrested an SHO and his two aides with 846 gm of heroin when the cop was in uniform and on duty as well. He had been into drug peddling for four to five years. The Ludhiana Commissionerate of Police should maintain a strict vigil on the activities of the cops in the district to prevent them from getting involved in drug smuggling. The government needs to create more skill-development centres to generate employment and encourage sports. Anti-drug awareness programmes should be organised. Holistic treatment centres should be set up to rehabilitate the addicts. The poor addicts remain easy targets for the police, whereas “the big fish” remain elusive. If this trend continues, the government will fail to get rid of the drug menace.
Raghbir Sembhi
Multi-pronged action needed
To free Punjab of drug menace, a multi-pronged approach is necessary. To begin with, bolstering border security and intelligence networks is critical to reducing narcotics trafficking from neighbouring regions. This includes installing advanced surveillance technology and increasing manpower at vulnerable crossing points. Second, significant investment in rehabilitation and de-addiction centres, combined with community-based awareness programmes, is critical. These facilities should provide comprehensive treatment, including counselling and vocational training to reintegrate addicts into society. Simultaneously, educational campaigns focusing on the negative effects of drugs, particularly among young people, can foster a culture of prevention.
Tamanpreet Kaur Khangura
Promote anti-drug campaigns
Educate youth about the harmful effects of drugs through school and college programmes. Promote anti-drug campaigns with real-life stories of addiction and recovery. Encourage social organisations to spread awareness. Strengthen family bonds and encourage parents to be aware of their children’s activities. Create local anti-drug committees in villages and cities to monitor and report illegal activities. Promote sports, arts and extracurricular activities to keep youth engaged. Ensure politicians do not have links with drug mafias. Make drug control a priority in governance with transparency in execution. Implement strict monitoring of pharmaceutical drugs that can be misused. Provide better job opportunities to youths to prevent them from falling into drug addiction due to unemployment. Support entrepreneurship and self-employment initiatives. Strengthen the agriculture sector to discourage farmers from engaging in illegal poppy cultivation.
Prabhnoor Kaur
Rehabilitation of addicts vital
In Punjab, a good number of youths are involved in drugs. As per a report of the World Health Organisation, more than 4,50,000 people died as a result of drug use in a year in India, with the situation in Punjab very alarming. To prevent youths from taking drugs, the focus has to be on sensitising parents, teachers and students. Parents and teachers should be counselled that isolation and stigmatisation would only enhance the problem and not help the youth addicted to substance abuse to overcome it. Rehabilitation is crucial to wean away youngsters from addiction and make them productive by bringing them into the mainstream of society. Corporate sector must come forward to earmark funds for such activities under Corporate Social Responsibility. The government must keep a vigil on the drug suppliers and put them behind bars. Youth must be given some work or tool kits to get them busy so they may not be able to think about drug use. Society and other organisations should join hands to remove the problem of drug use in Punjab.
Dr Mohd Saleem Farooqui
Set up more de-addiction centres
The Punjab Government launched a movement “Yudh Nashian Virudh”. This is a good step that the government took to take offensive against drug lords by demolishing their illegal properties. This step will be very effective to free our youths from the use of drugs. This movement will be more effective if the government established drug de-addiction centres in the state. Unemployement is also a reason of drug addiction. When a youth has a good qualification, but did not get employment according to his/her qualification, he gets depressed. Youths then tend to switch to drugs.
Rupinder Pal Singh Gill
Support ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign
All efforts must be made for the success of the state government’s war on ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh. There are essentially two agencies involved in such a programme. One is the state and second is some persons from general public who store and further sell drugs. The state has rightly put its police on the job. The police have launched a strong offensive against the drugs not only by catching drug lords and punishing them severely. The police also demolish the illegal properties of such lords. This is the right step from the government side. The state, along with the Red Cross of India, has drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centres in almost all districts. The staff of these centres must play their simultaneous role. They must go from village to village every day, fix a meeting with students of schools, staff members there and the families residing in the village to deliver lectures that they must not deal with drugs and sell these in the cities. This will also mean proper use of the staff in these centres. The villagers and students must be educated against the illegal use of drugs and their storage in the villages for further sale. This step is essential and help in stopping the villagers against storing drugs and further selling these to city dwellers who buy them.
Gautam Dev
Campaign to curb drugs positive step
To free Punjab of drug menace, “Yudh Nashian Virudh” is a forward step towards a drug-free society. Many areas are affected by drug addiction in Punjab. A drug-free Punjab can be achieved by spreading awareness about the effects of drug addiction through posters ,speeches and social media. Educated volunteers should inform poor people about the physical and mental effects of drug addiction. Also, know the reasons why people become drug addicts. Volunteers should try to address the underlying reasons that force people to take drugs. By making people mentally strong through counselling ,meditation and other techniques, they will be less likely to turn to drugs . Through a friendly interaction and comfortable conversations, we can gain insight into the root cause of a person’s drug addiction. No one wants to become a drug addict. When people are aware of the effects of drugs, they are less likely to use these, which naturally leads to significant losses for drug lords. With an aware and informed society on our side, we can take strong and decisive action against drug lords.
Prabhjot Kaur
Break drug supply channels
The Commissionerate Police of Ludhiana has taken a commendable step in addressing drug menace in Punjab. Controlling this issue requires a multi-faceted approach, with strict law enforcement as the foremost priority. Cracking down on drug supply channels, strengthening border security and establishing fast-track courts for drug-related cases are essential measures. Awareness campaigns highlighting the harmful effects of drugs should be actively promoted, especially in schools and colleges. Rehabilitation and de-addiction centres must be strengthened, with a focus on psychological counselling and community-based programmes. Job opportunities and skill-based education are the need of the hour to provide alternatives to those vulnerable to drug abuse. The formation of anti-drug committees in villages and the involvement of panchayats and local governance in monitoring the situation can play a crucial role. Encouraging public reporting of drug peddlers should also be promoted. Both the government and public must work hand in hand to curb this menace in Punjab.
Kirandeep Kaur
Property seizure welcome measure
It is a welcome step on part of the Punjab Government that actions are now being taken against drug peddlers. Razing houses of drug-peddlers, putting them behind bars and slapping heavy charges on them are exemplary measures that many people in the state have started lauding. Many more such harsh actions are required so that even after coming out of jails, there should be fear of law and order in drug traffickers. Along with this, a multi-faceted approach should be adopted with more raids and arrests, property seizures and prosecution.
Rakesh Mishra
Rescue youngsters from drugs
Today Punjab is passing through a tough and crucial stage where youngsters are involved in drug use, making the situation alarming. If we are interested in getting rid of drug abuse, we all should come forward and send drug users to rehabilitation centres. Students must be made aware at an early stage in schools and colleges about the ill-effects of drugs. Parents and teachers must listen to them with patience and counsel them with soft and sympathetic words. Youths must be involved in some work and in the evening some special games in parks and villages should be there for them. Parents and other members of society must keep a check on their mobility. Drug-sellers must be punished with jail or heavy fine. There should be counselling classes for the youth who are into drug abuse. Above all, it is the prime duty of all of us to pull out our youngsters from the habit of drug abuse.
Farzana Khan
