Punjab: drug addiction

A recent survey on social welfare by the Punjab government has thrown up startling results. According to the survey, 66 per cent of the school-going students in the state consume gutkha or tobacco; every third male and every tenth female student has taken drugs on one pretext or the other and seven out of 10 college students use one or the other drugs. About 75 per cent men in Punjab are addicted to alcohol or drugs. These findings were submitted by the social welfare department, Chandigarh, in response to a petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court a year ago.

Also in recent times, the amount of narcotic substances seized in the state has also been among the highest in the country. Hargjit Singh, a bureaucrat, on behalf of the Punjab Government had submitted in the court that “the vibrancy of Punjab is virtually a myth.... many sell their blood to procure their daily doze of deadly drugs, even beg on the streets for money to continue their addiction... The entire Punjab is in the grip of drug hurricane which weakens the morale, physique and character of the youth. We are in the danger of losing the young generation. The vibrant Punjab that had ushered in the green revolution is today living in a dazed stupor as 67 per cent of its rural household has at least one drug addict.” The effects of this addiction showed at a police recruitment rally in Patiala this February. Of the total 7,114 candidates, only 3,382 appeared for the physical test — meaning more than half of them lost in advance, apparently due to the fear of failure. And of those who turned up, only 1,456  could clear the test.

SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill says drug and alcohol abuse could be blamed for the falling standards. “Their (Punjabi youth’s) height is also getting stinted due to drinking at an early age. Haryana youth, on the other hand, are far stronger,” says Gill.

The sperm count of men from Punjab has drastically gone down, thanks to drug abuse, alcoholism and overuse of pesticides. Data compiled by a World Health Organisation committee has brought these findings to the fore. “The sperm count is going down and this is evident from increasing cases of infertility in young males,” says Dr B.S. Shah, who is a member of the WHO committee on semen analysis. “The average sperm count of males world over was 60 million three decades ago. This has now decreased to 15 million and Punjab is amongst the most adversely affected states in India,” says Dr Shah.