'Every third male student in Punjab drug addict'

Vibrancy of Punjab is virtually a myth according to an affidavit submitted in HC which reads that 66 per cent of the school-going students in the state consume gutkha or tobacco; every third male and every tenth female student has taken drugs on one pretext or the other and seven out of 10 college-going students abuse one or the other drug.

Harjit Singh, Secretary, Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development, Chandigarh submitted these details in a reply to a petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The secretary, on behalf of the Punjab Government, submitted that “the vibrancy of Punjab is virtually a myth.... many sell their blood to procure their daily doze of deadly drugs, even beg on the streets for money to continue their addiction... The entire Punjab is in the grip of drug hurricane which weakens the morale, physique and character of the youth. We are in the danger of losing the young generation. The vibrant Punjab that had ushered in the green revolution is today living in a dazed stupor as 67 per cent of its rural household has at least one drug addict.”