Assembly report exposes alarming drug situation in Punjab: BJP

Chandigarh, Aug 7 (IANS) Describing the report presented by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Committee on the alarming drug situation in the state as a document of the Aam Aadmi Party government’s biggest failure, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Kewal Singh Dhillon on Friday said more than 65 per cent of the youth in the grip of drugs is a serious warning.

He said the committee’s report has exposed the reality behind the government’s claims of a “Drug-Free Punjab” and its “War Against Drugs” campaign.

Citing the report, Dhillon said young people in the age group of 18-35 are the worst affected by drug abuse.

“Even more alarming is the fact that the consumption of de-addiction medicines such as Buprenorphine has increased by 57 per cent over the past four years, while there is a severe shortage of beds for treatment in civil hospitals,” he said.

He added that these figures clearly prove the government has neither been able to curb drug abuse nor create adequate treatment infrastructure for those who have an addiction.

The BJP Punjab chief recalled that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal had promised to eradicate drugs within three months of his party forming the government in Punjab. However, four and a half years later, the situation has become even more alarming than before.

He said the government’s “War Against Drugs” campaign has completely failed at the grassroots and has remained confined to advertisements, publicity and hollow claims.

Dhillon said if the government’s claims were true, the consumption of de-addiction tablets would not have increased from around 700 million to nearly 1.1 billion.

He questioned why, if drug abuse was indeed declining, the demand for de-addiction medicines had witnessed such a record increase?

He said instead of attacking the root cause of the drug menace, the government is attempting to hide its failure through statistics and publicity campaigns.

He stressed that the battle against drugs cannot be won merely through speeches and publicity campaigns. The government’s priority should be to dismantle the drug supply chain, take stringent action against major drug traffickers without political interference, and implement a time-bound and effective policy for the treatment, counselling and rehabilitation of drug-affected youth.

Punjab’s future can only be secured if its youth are protected, Dhillon added.

--IANS

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