हिंदी
‘Corona lockdown’ comes to Capt’s aid to curb spiraling drug menace in Punjab.
Corona imposed curfew, theekri pehras in villages disrupt drug supply line to Punjab villages
Punjab police employees held smuggling drugs on theekri pehras
During Congress regime more than 383 have succumbed to drug over dose
Chandigarh, June 26. Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday took a dig at the Congress government in Punjab for its failure to check the spiraling drug menace maintaining that what Congress could not do in the last 3-years has been accomplished, albeit by default, during the 3 months of lockdown due to the deadly coronavirus.
Official data on the unprecedented rush and spurt in cases at de-addiction centers and OOAT clinics in the state exposes the claims of the Punjab government. Senior BJP leader Vineet Joshi addressing the media today said 23% of the total cases at these centers have come about in the last three months of lockdown. This, he said, suggests that the availability of drugs was hampered owing to curfew, lockdown and thikri Pehras in villages which led to addicts reaching out in large numbers for treatment at these de-addiction centres.
“Out of the 5,44,125 total cases, as many as 1,29,504 cases were recorded between March 23 to June 17 this year. This constitutes a sizable 23% of cases,” Joshi said, adding that what could not be done in 36-months has been accomplished in 3-months by default.
Vineet Joshi said, the statement of Punjab Health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu that the ‘lockdown has broken the backbone of drugs in Punjab’ vindicates his stand that the success in disrupting drug supply lines in the last 3 months is largely because of the lockdown and other factors and not because of the efforts of the government, Punjab police or the STF.
On International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Vineet Joshi said, precious 383 lives have been lost due to drug overdose in Captain Amarinder’s three years three months of rule in Punjab. The figures, he said, could be even more given that the police tend to cite other reasons for such mortalities.
The seriousness of the government, he opined, can be gauged from the fact that for the last two years only symbolic events have been held by the government on this day.
“Where lockdown was useful to curb drugs, thikri pehras by villagers proved a great boom. Ironically, several cops who were allegedly in league with drug peddlers were apprehended by villagers during lockdown in several districts of Punjab,” Vineet Joshi said.
The unprecedented rush and registrations at the 198 OOTA clinics, 35 government de addition centres and another 108 licensed de addition centres speaks volumes of the failure of the incumbents.
Taking a dig at the Chief Minister, Vineet Joshi said Capt Amarinder Singh should remain ever ‘indebted to the corona outbreak’ as it has helped him move forward to fulfil its 2017 manifesto promise of a drug free Punjab in 4 weeks.
