SOCIETY
Road to hell

About 70 per cent of the population of Haryana’s Sirsa district bordering Punjab and Rajasthan is addicted to drugs. The situation is a cause for concern because many fall prey to the menace in their early teens, writes Kiran Deep

Makhan Singh (50) of Mandi Dabwali, addicted to poppy husk, is undergoing treatment in hospital.

The deadly monster of narcotic drugs has spread its tentacles so far and wide that it has ruined the lives of hundreds of families in Sirsa district of Haryana, which shares its border with Rajasthan and Punjab. Residents of 83 villages out of the 326 in the district are addicted to drugs. Between 60 and 70 per cent of the male population of these identified villages is taking poppy husk and opium. Marginal farmers and landless labourers, who constitute a major portion of the population in rural areas, are the worst hit. The situation is so alarming that youngsters fall prey to drugs in their early teens — 14 being the normal starting age.

Sukhbir (21), a school dropout, is heavily into drugs

These facts were highlighted in a report sent to World Health Organisation by the district police after approval of the DGP, Haryana. The police has sought a grant of Rs 12.50 crore from WHO to control the menace.

It is the geographical location of Sirsa district that has made it most vulnerable to this malady. The district shares a stretch of 150 km of its border with Rajasthan where opium cultivation is permitted to licence holders. Thus, drug trafficking has not only resulted in widespread addiction among the population but has also given a fillip to illicit inter-state drugs trade. In the absence of a proper policy, a high-profile Mafia now controls the illegal drug trade.

The district also provides a passage to those involved in the trade of narcotics to Punjab, especially its Malwa region. The consumption of drugs in Haryana and Punjab is more than Rajasthan. While deprived farmers and labourers go in for poppy husk and effluents of opium, youngsters prefer smack.

The police has revealed that Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar and Chittorgarh of Rajasthan are the main sources of drugs. These are smuggled into Sirsa and other parts of Haryana and Punjab. Farmers have been growing opium for years in the Chittorgarh, Kota, Warame and Jhalwad areas of Rajasthan, as per the quota fixed by the government.

Tarsem (35) and Pura Singh (50) of Jamalwali village, who have been on drugs for years, lead a desolate life today.

However, they grow more than the stipulated quantity and supply it in black. Opium, smack, brown sugar and heroin are found in plenty in these areas. The waste of the opium plant is used as poppy husk. Due to massive demand from shops, drugs were auctioned at high prices in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan due to its proximity to Haryana and Punjab. The smuggling of narcotics continues unabated in these parts with the blessings of the Mafia, politicians, Excise Department officials, opium growers and contractors of Rajasthan. Politicians of Rajasthan directly or indirectly get contracts for the sale of drugs.

The Mafia operates with the help of drug addicts, using them as peddlers. However, poor and old women and physically challenged people are made to act as conduits to supply drugs to villages of Haryana and Punjab.
Addiction to drugs dates back to the feudal times. Landlords, in order to draw out maximum labour from their workers, administered them with drugs. The two advantages were:(a) the poor landless labourers toiled hard in the fields due to the effect of drugs; and (b) as they had got hooked on to drugs, they could not think of leaving their jobs as that would deprive them of their daily dose. Thus, the landlords got permanent slaves. A total of 61.25 per cent population of the district is dependent on agriculture.

This year so far 347 drug peddlers were arrested by the police. While a number of those arrested belong to Haryana, there are many from Punjab and Rajasthan. Since 2002, 1,881 cases under the NDPS Act have been registered in the district.

The price of 1 kg of smack is Rs 4 lakh, 1 kg of opium comes for Rs 35,000 and 1 kg of poppy husk varies between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500. The villages and towns, which this menace has affected the most, include Kalanwali, Odhan, Dabwali, Pipli, Chatha, Badagudha, Lakrawali, Sukhchain, Jagmalwali and Jandwal Jattana.

In the absence of drugs, many opt for other sedatives and painkiller tablets that are easily available over the counter at any chemist’s shop. They even go to the extent of taking 300 to 500 tablets a day to satisfy their urge. The addicts who cannot afford drugs often indulge in heinous crimes—- murder, robbery, theft.
Pale, withered and still single, Pura Singh (50) of Jamalwali village, is cursing the day he took to drugs that brought him to his present wretched state. A broken man, and at a stage when one is in the utmost need of the loving care of his family, Pura Singh is living a desolate life, having been deserted by his family long ago due to his addiction. An addict at the early age of 18, Pura Singh consumes 3 kg to 5 kg of poppy husk a month, besides opium. Somewhat similar is the story of another addict Tarsem (35), a farmer of the same village, who has been consuming drugs for the past 10 years. He becomes helpless to run his daily affairs and is dependent on others.
Banshi Singh (49) of Badura is yet another name in the long list of those spending their lives in the dark world of drugs. He sold off nine acres of his precious land to possess the deadly poison. His family is now living in abject poverty.

All these men are the victims of easy availability of drugs and the popular belief, prevailing here for years, that drugs increase one’s performance. Sukhbir(21), who was consuming drugs for the past three years and is now getting treatment, says: "I have hurt my family a lot. I left studies after matriculation and started taking drugs. I cheated my parents. I extracted money from them on the pretext of paying school fee or for buying books. I actually bought drugs. Now I have decided to quit taking drugs.’’

Shankar of Mandi Dawbali, who was recently caught by the police, says he had been consuming smack for the past two years. His condition is deplorable. He says drug peddlers used to deliver smack at their designated places in villages. ‘’I want to quit this habit and return to normal life if someone can help me,’’ he says.

"It’s late but not too late. I have wasted precious years of my life in drug addiction. I was consuming opium and poppy husk regularly for the past 20 years’’, rues Makhan Singh (50) of Mandi Dabwali, who was a truck driver and had left the job when his health condition deteriorated. Now he is undergoing treatment. ’’I had begun with opium in the company my friends who were found of opium. When I left driving, I become an addict of poppy husk, which is supplied by peddlers in my village,’’ says Makhan Singh.

So far 2,070 addicts from different areas have got themselves registered with the only de-addiction centre at Kalanwali. However, the centre is lacking proper infrastructure and manpower. As a result, the addicts lack the required care and treatment and continue to live in misery. Even private clinics are not of much help.

Costly as they are, treatment at these private centres is out of reach of most addicts, a majority of whom are from the lower strata of society.

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