CHANDIGARH, Aug 26: Congress general secretary Kumari Selja on Monday said youths in Haryana are falling victim to drug addiction, with 13 of the 22 districts being severely affected by the scourge.
The Sirsa MP also said drug abuse is more prevalent in Haryana areas bordering Punjab and Rajasthan.
Hisar, Sirsa, Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, Ambala, and Kurukshetra are affected, and similarly, in the constituencies bordering Uttar Pradesh, such as Karnal, Sonipat, Faridabad, and Gurugram, drugs are being widely sold, Selja alleged in a statement.
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The once-famed land of “milk and yoghurt,” Haryana, now presents a terrifying picture, she said.
“Statistics confirm this situation. Out of the 22 districts in the state, 13 are severely affected by drug abuse and have become hot spots for drug trafficking. The government remained inactive on this issue, and if they had acted, drug traffickers could not have operated on this land,” she said.
Once the Congress government is formed, the first step will be to work towards making the state drug-free, Selja said.
Haryana goes to polls on October 1 and Congress is eyeing to wrest the power from BJP.
The former Union minister Selja said that Punjab became known as ‘Udta Punjab,’ “and now the BJP government has turned Haryana into ‘Udta Haryana’ due to the growing drug menace”.
“The Congress repeatedly warned the government on this issue, but instead of taking action against drug traffickers, the government indulged in events like ‘Raahgiri,’ government festivals, and bike safaris.
“Today, the government’s ‘Narcotics Control Bureau’ admits that 13 out of the 22 districts in the state are in the grip of severe drug addiction. Drugs are being smuggled into Haryana and the NCR region from abroad,” she said.
Selja said that not just 13 districts but the entire state has become a hub for drugs and the government has no concern for the youth of Haryana.
“During its 10-year tenure, the BJP government has turned the state into a hub of drugs, crime, and unemployment,” she claimed.
“In Sirsa, one youth after another is dying due to drug overdoses. Synthetic drugs have now reached villages in addition to cities,” she said, adding that the conditions of de-addiction centres in the state is also poor, and there is a shortage of psychiatrists.
The Congress has raised this issue time and again, she said.
The number of people visiting OPDs for drug abuse treatment is increasing year by year, Selja said.
“In 2021, around 95,863 drug users visited OPDs, including 28,283 women. Out of these, 2,765 people were admitted. The number of people falling into the trap of drug addiction has been continuously increasing in 2022 and 2023.
“According to NCRB data, 329 deaths have occurred due to drug overdoses since 2014. In the last one and a half years, 33 deaths due to overdoses have occurred in Sirsa district alone, with the victims aged between 18 and 30 years,” she said. (PTI)
