Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday expressed concern over the increasing use of drugs and intoxicants in Haryana.

He said youth of the state are constantly getting caught in the grip of drugs and crime, while the BJP-JJP (Bharatiya Janata Party- Jannayak Janta Party) government is sitting as a mute spectator as youth of the state are falling victim to intoxication.

“Report from Sirsa district alone shows that 20 per cent of the people here are in the grip of drugs. There have been seven deaths due to overdose in the last 15 days. Even small children are ruining their lives by falling prey to dangerous drugs,” the Congress leader said.

He  said in Sirsa, during the last 8 years, more than 1.25 lakh people have visited the civil hospital for drug de-addiction.” This is only the figure that has come to the fore, whereas many drug addicts do not come out because of fear or shame. They are slowly being consumed by this silent epidemic and face ruin and death,” Hooda said.

The former CM said not only in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kaithal,Jind, Ambala, Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, but the menace of addiction is also spreading all over the state in a worrying manner.

“Many reports of the government itself are telling that the situation has got out of hand. Earlier, the NCRB report had revealed that Haryana has overtaken Punjab in the death toll due to drug overdose. In the case of narcotics, Haryana has overtaken big states,” he said.

The Leader of the Opposition said that the liquor scam during the lockdown and the subsequent cover-up of the government in the whole matter made it clear that those dealing with intoxicants have the protection of the government.

Hooda said the government’s nexus with drug dealers is destroying not only today but even the generations to come.

Asking parents to pay special attention to their children, he called upon the youth not to become a victim of drugs due to unemployment or any other desperation.

“The youth of Haryana are the pride of not only the state but the entire country because the youth of Haryana have brought glory to the country all over the world in sports and in other fields. It is our first responsibility to save the youth who have brought glory and pride to the country,” Hooda said.