No more ‘Udta Punjab’ for infamous Ludhiana village
Khurshidpura residents vow to abstain from drug consumption, peddling
Khurshidpura, known as ‘village of drug peddlers’ with 70% of its male population involved in supply of ‘chitta’, has decided to wash the blot on its image.
The villagers on Saturday vowed that they will not allow drugs and drug peddlers in the village as their sufferings have increased over the years due to the drug menace.
They said while people of other villages have been avoiding marrying their children in the village due to its bad reputation, the village youths had not achieved success in any field as they were either addicted to drugs or were into drug smuggling.
In a meeting held at the village gurdwara on Saturday, the village panchayat handed over an affidavit to Ludhiana (rural) senior superintendent of police (SSP) Surjit Singh, maintaining that they will make it sure that no villager will sell any drug or consume it.
The villagers who are into drugs and facing trial in cases of drug peddling also promised to the SSP that they will give up drugs.
SSP Surjit Singh said the police have initiated a special drive against drugs. Khurshidpura and Kulgehna villages are on the target of the police, as most of the residents of these villages were involved in drug peddling, he added.
“We got support from residents of Khurshidpura, who wanted to get rid of the blot on the village’s name. The panchayat has approached the police that they have vowed to fight against drug peddling and they have convinced almost everyone in this regard,” said the SSP.
“The villagers who had been involved in drug peddling have
OUT OF 230 HOUSEHOLDS IN THE VILLAGE, 200 WERE AFFECTED BY DRUGS DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY
handed over individual affidavits to the police and I hope they will keep their word,” he added.
The village has a bad name in police records. According to police, 70% men of the village are involved in drug peddling, out of which 60% men are lodged in jails. In the past one and a half months, the police have arrested 16 residents of Khurshidpura for drug peddling.
Santa Singh, sarpanch of Khurshidpura, said that he was so hurt about the tarnished image of the village that he was about to resign as sarpanch. “I took up the issue in the panchayat and mobilised everyone to end this menace,” he said.
“The major problem is that we are not getting matches for our boys and girls as people stopped marrying their children in the village, he added.
Khurshidpura has a population of 1,200. Out of 230 households in the village, 200 were affected by drugs directly or indirectly.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP-detective) Balwinder Singh said panchayats of Kulgehna, Malsian Bet, Malsian Bajan and Kamalpura villages are also in touch with the police and planning similar initiative over the issue.