Supreme Court of India. ANI
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on the Punjab government over rampant manufacturing and sale of illegal liquor in the state, saying that the state government was only filing FIRs and not taking any concrete action on them.
Noting that drugs and alcohol problem is a serious issue in the state, the apex court asked Bhagwant Mann-led government to list out specific steps take to curb the menace of manufacturing illegal liquor.
The court said that Punjab is a border state and if “somebody wants to finish the country, they will start with the borders.”
As per a 2017 report, the incidence of substance abuse among Punjab youth who were a part of the study, was 65.5 per cent, with alcohol being the most often misused substance at 41.8 per cent among all the other addictions.
Liquor is followed by cigarettes at 21.3 percent as one of the most consumed form of drugs in the state. While there was also a high frequency of heroin abusers at a concerning 20.8 per cent.
The scourge of drug usage in Punjab has reached epidemic proportions, shaking the state’s whole culture. It has been observed that “drug abuse” is a spreading pandemic in Punjab, particularly among the youth.
With inputs from agencies
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