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Highway blues — I
Dhabas thrive on opium trade
From Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service

G T Road, Nov 12 — The dhabas and liquor shops which have sprouted on the stretch of the G T Road connecting Chandigarh with Delhi have given a fillip to the notorious character of the historical highway.

“ Nobody does clean business on the G T Road “, said the owner of a dhaba at Umri, near Pipli, in Kurukshetra district. Dhaba owners in the neighbourhood were striking it rich by selling opium to drivers, he stated while claiming that he himself was not involved in the trade. Truck drivers constitute the main clientele for opium, which enables them to keep awake while driving even at the dead of night. Most of the time it is they who supply opium brought in bulk from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to dhaba owners for selling.

The 35-km stretch between Pipli and Shahbad is well known in the truckers’ circuit for opium trade. “In one tola I can go up to Delhi from Amritsar and come back “, said a truck driver. More than one trucker confessed purchasing opium from Shahbad and pointed out that the business was carried out in connivance with the local police.

Mr Kamraj, Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Haryana, said that he was fully aware of the opium trade carried out by the dhabas, while adding that checking the dhabas did not fall under his jurisdiction.

However, the SHO at the Shahbad police station denied such a trade en masse. As soon as the police would get intelligence about opium selling or any such activity indulged by any dhaba, it would be busted, he claimed.

While the opium trade is carried out on the sly, Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) shops, which have sprouted on the highway with official sanction are found handy not only by the “thirsty” travellers, but also by village residents to have a taste of the “vilayati” brands. “ If I sell Rs 5000 in a day, about Rs 1500 would be sold to villagers ,” quipped Mehar, who looks after an IMFL shop at Butana village in Kurukshetra district.

However, the main clientele of the liquor shops on the highway remain the travellers. The shops have BP (Bagpiper), ACP ( Aristocrat Premium) RC (Royal Challenge), RK (Red Knight) all whisky brands, etc, written on placards or billboards kept in front of the shops . Even someone travelling at a speed of 100 kmph would not be able to miss these billboards and could stop his car for a gulp.

This reporter counted 23 IMFL shops and five country liquor vends on the 200-km stretch between Chandigarh and Sonepat. The actual number of shops may be more. There are also seven bar-cum-pubs, run by Haryana Tourism Corporation as well private parties, on this stretch. The bars too are frequented by local residents as much as travellers, who halt to quaff the drink and sometimes get sozzled. Surprisingly not many accidents are caused by drunken driving.

About the dhabas which have come up by the sides of the highway during last four years, police officials say that they have good as well as bad effects. The good effects, though, are less than the bad. 

The presence of dhabas gives the travellers a sense of security and prevents robberies and such crimes, the officials say. When four people were killed in a car-lorry collision on Divali it was a nearby dhaba owner who reportedly extricated the bodies, gave first aid to the injured and informed the police.

However, dhabas are also centres of nefarious activities. If they are not selling opium, they thrive on consumption of liquor on their premises. A number of dhabas on the G T Road have been set up in close proximity to wine shops exclusively for this purpose. The conventional dhabas thrive on providing foodstuff to bus passengers which they manage by bribing bus drivers to make them stop their bus in front of a their dhaba. Indeed, there are exceptions which make a reputation for themselves by serving decent food.

The owner of Pappu Dhaba near Pipli pointed out that the number of vehicles on the road had increased manifold which had made his business profitable. Sukhbir, owner of Shiv Delux Dhaba, at Jhingjhiri (Karnal), said unemployment was also pushing youth to run and manage dhabas.