After observing many children, Dr Rajiv Gupta, a city-based psychiatrist and de-addiction specialist said, “Drug addiction has made deep inroads into the rural areas of Punjab. Some start experimenting with these drugs in their peer groups while others get hooked to this bad habit while sitting with the unemployed youngsters and elders after their schools get over.”

Citing a few recent incidents, Dr Gupta said, “A few weeks ago, principal of a government school from Mandi Ahmedgarh referred a high school student to me. That student used to consume one bottle of liquor daily. During his counselling, I got to know that he picked up this habit from jobless village youngsters who idle away their time sitting here and there.”

Dr Gupta said that three days ago, he came across a student at Mullanpur, who is addicted to ganja. He said that while many students were slowly taking to drugs, parents were not paying heed to the situation.

“If parents notice their wards are suffering from sleep disorders, loss of appetite, weight- loss, irritability and poor performance in school, they should bring their wards’ activities under scanner. Such students often steal money from home and have tendency to turn violent.” He said that easy availability of these drugs is another factor that was fuelling the crisis. Suggesting the parents he said, “The parents should remain alert about the peer group of their children and the company of their children. A regular check by parents on their wards is mandatory. And if anyone tells parents about any suspicious activities of their wards, they should not ignore it.”