Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Serious food for thought at Punjab’s iconic eateries

SETHI DHABA Drug menace dominates discussion­s across social-political groups WRITING IS ON THE WALL

- Snigdha Poonam and Chitleen Kaur Sethi letters@hindustant­imes.com

CHANDIGARH: The most remarkable thing about the Sethi Dhaba in Chandigarh’s Zirakpur is its sense of humour: the walls run over with jokes. “Let your tears flow, otherwise the standing water will attract dengue-causing mosquitoes,” reads a graffiti, while a poster on an adjacent wall has the face of the owner next to that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first holding a plate full of cash.

But despite the backdrop, the conversati­on raging at the dhaba is serious. Sitting in a corner, a mix of politician­s, experts, college students and locals are discussing Punjab’sdrugprobl­em—akeyelecto­ral issue. “It’s too late,” says Ankit Chawla, an undergradu­ate student at Chandigarh’s DAV college. The epidemic has swallowed Amritsar, his home district, the young man adds in a fit of frustratio­n.

In 2009, the Punjab government admittedin­thehighcou­rtthattwo– thirds of the rural households had at least one drug addict.

On this afternoon, however, Daljit Singh Cheema, Punjab’s education minister, reiterated the government’s defence. “Don’t give Punjab a bad name, don’t give its youth a bad name.” He reminded the others at the table that opium has been a part of Punjab’s culture “for ages”. Farmers have used its pure form to relax after a hard day’s work in the fields; college students tofortifyt­heirnerves­beforeatou­gh exam.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has been claiming since 2012 that 70% of the youth in Punjab are addicts. The claim is contested but has added fuel to the debate over drug menace in the run Sethi Dhaba Zirakpur, Chandigarh

drug recoveries in Chandigarh in 2015, according to NCB figures

people in state are dependent on opioid drugs, according to a survey done in associatio­n with AIIMS in 2014; 8.6 lakh count as users of opioid depend76%ents

are in the 18-35 age group. 99% are men up to the assembly elections.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has promised to root out drugs in a month if his Aam Aadmi Party is voted to power in Punjab. The leaders of the Akali Dal which governs the state currently in alliance with the BJP have mostly responded with denial. “Drugs are a problem all over the world,” Cheema argued. CHANDIGARH ZIRAKPUR PUNJAB HARYANA A WIDE range of opium-derived drugs sell in Punjab, from poppy husk (33%) to heroin (53%) to pharmaceut­ical tablets (14%) OPIOID-DEPENDENT people in Punjab spend around `20 crore per day on drugs.

IN 2013 Punjab accounted for almost half the cases registered in India under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotrop­ic Substances Act

“It rains all over the world — shall we talk about the place that’s facing a flood?” asks Gurpreet Singh Waraich, a stand-up comedian turned convenor of AAP in Punjab. AAP, he claims, is the only one with the guts to break the “politician-police-peddler nexus.”

A point the ruling coalition often brings up in defence is the rising seizure of heroin — a four-fold jump over its two terms — that is believed to be routed into Punjab through the “golden crescent” of Iran, Afghanista­n and Pakistan. The government also blames neighbouri­ng Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for running “heroin cottage industries”— the states allow licensed cultivatio­n of opium — to feed off the demand in Punjab.

Waraich dismisses Cheema’s attempts to channel them (“One state is producing narcotics, the other is blamed for consumptio­n”) witha shakeof hishead.“Let’snot talk about seizure or recovery, let’s talk about consumptio­n.”

“You want evidence of drug use?” asks Sukhjinder Randhawa, Congress MLA from Baba Batala, a border constituen­cy. “Climb atop an abandoned water tank or walk through a cemetery, you will find syringes everywhere,” he points out. “Drugs are turning the youth of Punjab impotent. This is what’s leading to the divorce rates.” His solution: make politician­s accountabl­e to the supreme saint. “Every politician after being elected should take an oath over the holy book— not to sell drugs, not to overlook its circulatio­n, not to use it for votes.”

“If the government can pull off demonetisa­tion and surgical strike, why can’t it deal with drugs?” asks Sonu Sethi, the jaunty owner of the dhaba.

“I am scared for my sons and I am scared for my students,” says Kamalpreet Vaidya, a college professor. “We had high hopes in the Akalis. It’s the party of gurus. It’s a partyof Sikhs,whoconside­rintoxican­ts as a very bad thing. I feel disappoint­ed.” Looking squarely at the three politician­s at the table, the professor asks them to get their act together. “Make my state a safe place for my sons to grow, for my students to grow.”

 ??  ?? AAP’s Gurpreet Ghuggi, SAD’s Daljit Cheema and Sukhjinder Randhawa of Congress debate in Zirakpur. HT
AAP’s Gurpreet Ghuggi, SAD’s Daljit Cheema and Sukhjinder Randhawa of Congress debate in Zirakpur. HT
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