Serious food for thought at Punjab’s iconic eateries
SETHI DHABA Drug menace dominates discussions across social-political groups WRITING IS ON THE WALL
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.”