Drugs: Shun leaders

The series of news articles on the drug menace in Punjab portrays the seriousness of the problem in the state. The way it has affected the youth is depressing. And, more disheartening is the way the problem is being treated by the government. Drug problem is not new, what is new is the type and variety of drugs being used and the way they are being used even by 14-year-olds. There is a whole new range of more dangerous and expensive drugs.

This problem needs to be fixed and a special cell dedicated to tackle the problem should be formed. Recently, we read reports of drug addicts being rounded up and a minster was made to resign, but all this is eyewash.

The drug network is well spread in Punjab. The people need to wake up to the problem and force the government to act to save our future and the youth. The leaders involved in this trade should be boycotted and made to realise that there will be serious consequences if they continued to be involved in the trade.

Amanvir Singh Tiwana, Patiala

Stop drug flow

Eradication of the drug menace should be the one-point programme of the government. The seventh river of drug inflow that has started in Punjab is a matter of concern. An SIT should be set up to crack the problem. Punishment should awarded to the wrongdoers, irrespective of their position. The government should act firmly, otherwise the future of the Punjabi youth would be affected. Cases of suicide and anti-social activity are on the rise due to its effect. Save the future generation from the evil of drugs.

Prof Y L Chopra, Bathinda

Expose drug mafia

I am pleased that The Tribune has attempted to spread awareness on drug abuse in Punjab. There is a strong nexus between the Punjab police, drug sellers and political leaders. I wonder how policemen openely drink at dhabas in their uniform. Is it legal? Secondly, it is an open secret that people rent out their pharmacy diplomas to others to run chemist shops in Punjab. But no one has ever been found guilty since it is a system of organised monthly payments to drug controllers. These malpractices are known to all but hard to prove.

Dr Sandeep Sharma, via email

Bluestar: Move on

Operation Bluestar spearheaded a political crisis in Punjab 30 years ago. Whose fault was it? As a Sikh, I think both the Sikh extremists and union government are to be equally blamed. Since the 1960s, the Congress government has followed a policy of appeasement towards the Sikhs. However, appeasement just catalyses bigger demands, rather than curb them. This wrong policy resulted in the rise of terrorism. On the other hand, the Sikhs failed to construe that their demand for autonomy was baseless and the line was crossed when they made the Golden Temple as a storehouse of weapons. And the way Indian government dealt with the extremists in the Golden Temple was lunatic and cruel. The situation could have been dealt with in a different way.

But all this is past. It’s the time to forget the rancour associated with the incident and move on.

Jashandeep Singh Kang, Chandigarh

Decade of growth

Apropos the article “A decade of growth”, the tragedy for us Sikhs is that we could not mend our relations with the Congress during the decade Dr Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, was the PM. Sonia Gandhi wanted friendship with the Sikhs. But we did not respond due to some selfish leaders. We should have forgotten the past and moved forward.

Satinder Kaur, Griffith, Australia

Unburden the poor

Apropos the news item “Supply up, price of Pak cement falls” (May 29), the picture of a labourer lifting two bags of cement over his head sent a shiver down my spine. The man lifting a 100-kg cement bag himself seems to weigh just half of the load. It is barbaric to treat the poor like this. Numerous NGOs are fighting against cruelty to animals, but nobody cares about the poor. There are many forklifts that can move construction material.

The authorities need to put their heads together to find better ways to handle this kind of load.

KS Dhami, California

Legal services

The Legal Services Authorities Act, seeking to render free legal aid to the hapless sections of society, became operative in 1995. But with the passage of time, it seems to have become ineffective. The authorities should concentrate on rendering tangible help to the targeted sections of society rather than frittering away energy on over-repeated awareness campaigns. A thorough re-evaluation of the scheme is needed to find out whether the benefits have really percolated down to the needy and, if not, to make amends.