‘CM’ Jahanvi Sharma replies menace of drug abuse in districts bordering Punjab, Haryana, as CM Sukhu & Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania become onlookers

At the first Baal Satra (mock children’s session) held by the Himachal Vidhan Sabha, the opposition rushed to the well of the House expressing resentment about the government not taking adequate measures against the drug menace in the state.

The Baal Satra was organised by the Himachal Vidhan Sabha in association with NGO Future Society and The Statesman as the media partner.

During the question hour, Tanvi Sharma, the Leader of the Opposition tore into the government for its disregard towards the increasing menace of drugs and the condition of the de-addiction centres in the state. In response, deputy chief minister Tushar Anand apprised the House about the 91 de-addiction centres. Sahil Kapoor another member of the House wanted to know why some districts had more de-addiction centres and others less.

Later Chief Minister Jahanvi informed the House that the districts bordering Punjab and Haryana have a higher incidence of drug abuse and that measures are being taken to curb it.

However, despite the CM’s intervention, the Opposition kept blaming the ruling party for not doing enough and rushed to the well of the House.

Another question during the question hour that came up was that Himachal did not have any career counselling centres for the children at the threshold of their youth. Legislator Kamakhya Kaundal told the House that she was in the know of it and every last bit was being done to get the best counsellers for the children of the state.

A question was also raised by a member of the Opposition about increased pressure on a few tourist spots in the state and a proposal to explore more such places in the hill state and also the efforts that were being made to upgrade sporting facilities in the state since compared to the neighbouring Haryana and Punjab, Himachal lags behind terribly as far as the infrastructure is concerned.

Later, the Chief Minister of the state Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said that the children who were part of the Baal Satra are lucky to be sitting in this 98-year-old sadan (building) built by the British. He recalled his own journey to the Vidhan Sabha, saying that “I was a government school pass out, became a Class Representative at the age of 18, then the general secretary of the college and finally the President.”

CM Sukhu also said that Himachal has adopted 6,000 children as children of the state, the ones who have lost their parents.

The speaker of the Himachal Vidhan Sabha Kuldeep Singh Pathania, CM Sukhu and the vice chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narainji were the special guests.

Speaker Pathania said that the children are the future of the country and they need to be involved in the day-to-day affairs of the society.

More than 25,000 children participated in the initiation towards making Baal Satra in the Vidhan Sabha a reality. Ultimately 68 children (these are the number of seats in Himachal legislative assembly) were chosen from nine states.