Two panchayats in Shimla, Hamirpur dists show the way in fighting drug abuse

Two gram panchayats - Jharag in Shimla district and Bambloo in Hamirpur district - are showing the way to other panchayats in fighting the growing menace of drug abuse and use of intoxicants. The two panchayats were awarded by Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla recently for taking effective measures to check the use of drugs and intoxicants in a function organised by the Department of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development.

The pradhans of these panchayats give much of the credit for waging a successful war against drug abuse and intoxicants to the women of their area. “We managed to curb the problem of drug abuse and intoxicants in our panchayats due to the active participation of mahila mandals, anganwadi workers, ASHA workers and women self-help groups,” said KS Chauhan, the 83-year-old pradhan of gram panchayat Bambloo.

A retired school teacher, Chauhan mobilised women to start a fight against the use of drugs and liquor when he was elected pradhan. “With the increase in substance abuse in our panchayat, domestic violence against women had become rampant. I asked women to call me up as and when they were assaulted by their spouses and I would immediately send police to their homes. Women responded, and this proved effective in curbing the use of intoxicants and checking domestic violence,” he said.

“Besides, we passed a resolution that the families of individuals found using drugs and intoxicants would be expelled from the BPL category,” said Chauhan.

The Jharag panchayat, in the Jubbal-Kotkhai sub-division, also found support from women to check the rising problem of drug abuse. Ashok Sarta, village Pradhan, said the problem of drug abuse went up in their panchayat during Covid, when people returned to their villages from outside the state. “When the problem became serious, we put up barriers outside our panchayat to check the entry of suspected vehicles and people into our villages. We got a lot of support from women and police in our effort. Through our efforts, we managed to root out the problem from our panchayat,” said Sarta.

He further said that the panchayat, especially the women, keep an eye on any suspicious activity that may be related to drugs or other intoxicants. “Women are at the forefront of this effort as many have seen their own children falling prey to drug abuse. They don’t want to see any other child or youth suffer,” said Sarta.

And to discourage anyone getting into the business of drugs, Sarta said police are tipped off immediately if someone is found involved in drug supply. “We do not think twice in reporting such a person to the police. There’s no other way to check this menace,” said Sarta.

The steps taken

• They were able to curb drug abuse due to the active participation of mahila mandals, anganwari workers, says pradhan of Bambloo gram panchayat
• They passed a resolution that the families of individuals found using drugs and intoxicants would be excluded from the BPL category, he says
• The panchayat keeps an eye on any suspicious activity that may be related to drugs or other intoxicants
• The police are tipped off immediately if someone is found involved in drug supply, said Jharag panchayat pradhan