This story written by Robin David, published in Times of India on the Sikh Sajna Diwas – Vaiskhi points out to the reality of Punjab that is now known as a Drug State. The point to be noted here is how a non resident of India knows the real state of Punjab too well and the Government of India is sitting blindfolded by not noticing the ever increasing drug addiction in Punjab!
We at The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib believe in bringing a positive change in the society by bringing a wave of Rural Transformation by getting out of school rural children back to school and make them the change makers in their families and villages. We believe that education is the only way out in the fight against drugs. There have been many kids studying at 129 Akal Academies who have helped in bringing their family members out of drugs. We believe in churning out change makers as the only solution to this problem of drug addiction engulfing the Rangla Punjab!
Read the story here –
Amritsar: The number 272 may be the magic figure a party needs in the Lok Sabha to form a government, but in Maqboolpura, a locality of around 30,000 on the edge of Amritsar, the figure has a completely different meaning. That’s the number of women receiving the government’s widow pension here. Most of them lost their husbands to drug addiction, earning Maqboolpura the sobriquet of ‘locality of widows’.
Candidates of neither Congress nor BJP and AAP have made any major promises to the residents here till the weekend even as Amarinder Singh and Arun Jaitley traded punches over rampant drug use in the state. The Punjab government had in 2009 told the high court that 70% of youth are addicted to drugs.
A swarm of flies greets you as you enter the slum with Ajit Singh, a college professor and social activist. He is better known as ‘Masterji’ for the school he runs mainly for children of the widows along with Brij Bedi, husband of former top cop Kiran Bedi.
Some time later, Surinder Kaur arrives. A toughlooking, thin woman, she lost her husband to drugs in 2002 and has brought up her two sons and a daughter by doing odd jobs. The name ‘Narendra Modi’ does not ring a bell with her. Neither does Arun Jaitley. Amarinder Singh? Kind of, she seems uncertain. “The government gives a monthly pension of Rs 250. How many stomachs can you feed with that?” she asks. “And that too is irregular.”
Amarjit Kaur’s husband died in December. “We had a government de-addiction centre here but it has been shut down,” she says. But perhaps the most deplorable story was that of Shashi, who is not a widow. She lost two of her three sons to drug abuse in 2003. Her last surviving son too followed in the footsteps of his brothers. “My husband Ranjit Singh Mintu even planted illicit liquor bottles next to him and got him arrested in the hope that he will give up the habit in jail,” she said, teary-eyed. “Now, we have to bring up the two children of my eldest son. And, if that is not enough, my only daughter got divorced and returned home with a grandson.”
Shashi was featured in Aamir Khan’s TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ a couple of years ago. “But no help came from any quarter after that.” According to Masterji, the addiction has spawned other health issues. Many men suffer from TB while cases of impotency have also seen a jump. “What can Jaitley and Amarinder change here?” asks Bedi. “Our problems are with the state government, which has not been able to check the supply of drugs.”
~ Robin David
~ Times of India, 14th April ’14
