Not only in Punjab, most of the Punjabi youths settled abroad are also addicted to drugs, said Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director of US-based North American Punjabi Association (NAPA).
Chahal, who earlier met several youths addicted to drugs, doctors and owners of rehabilitation centres in Doaba region of Punjab, said though the Punjab government is trying its best to end drug menace in the state, more needs to be done. He said the main reason behind youths addicted to drugs in Punjab was the “NRI factor”.
Relatives and friends promise their back-home relatives that they will leave no stone unturned to take them abroad. When they are unable to fulfill their promise, then these drug addicted youths feel embarrassed in the society which pulls them towards drugs. He also said majority of the youths want to go abroad due to unemployment and deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
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For this, they require a huge amount of money and hence get lured by the world of drugs. Sometimes, it is NRIs who lure them into drug peddling, Chahal said here on Sunday.“This is more than unfortunate that when they reach foreign shores, they continue to be a part of the deadly trade. Though a sad fact, the reality is that the network of drugs has spread all across the world and Punjab is indeed the centre of the international drug nexus due to its close proximity with Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he said.
Chahal said he was shocked to see that some of the NRIs too are getting treated at drug de-addiction centres in Kapurthala and other places in Punjab.
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(With PTI inputs)
