In the 1900s or a little before, Kullu’s Manikaran valley and Malana—an ancient, landlocked, high-altitude village—found a naturally growing Himalayan plant, cannabis, as the most viable and easy source to produce charas.
Soon, these handmade cannabis concentrates from the resin of live cannabis plants—traditionally known for its potent effects in smoking—started getting bulk demand from across India and also foreign drug markets, bringing easy money to the locals.
With foreign travels reaching out to Kullu-Manali’s unexplored and inaccessible mountains, a strong supply chain to places like Goa, Punjab, and Bombay (now Mumbai) found its way even to the international markets.
Initially, it remained a clandestine trade that even the state government and its law enforcement agencies overlooked. There were not so many worries or any kind of alarm about the menace.
Over two decades down the line, alarm bells are ringing loud and strong about Punjab—one of the worst drug-affected states with a multi-crore illegal drug trade, and every district in the state, especially those bordering Pakistan, is grappling with a severe and persistent drug crisis.
Now, white powdery heroin-based “chitta” and other opioids are the deadliest drugs, driving addiction and overdose fatalities across the state, also affecting Himachal Pradesh.
Surveys reveal that 55 to 60 per cent of the youths, most of them college and school-going teenagers, are either drug abusers or addicts and even peddlers. Reports of drug overdose deaths and multiple arrests of notorious gangs involved in the drug trafficking have shocked the government and social action groups in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, including its rural areas.
The police record clearly demonstrates that Chitta has a strong hold on Himachal Pradesh, posing a significant threat to addicts. If not, drug trafficking chains are not crushed, and the hill state will become another drug capital like Punjab,” fears Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, who has launched a massive “anti-Chitta” people-centric movement.
Punjab’s drug crisis—often described as an “epidemic”—has deeply impacted its youth and is fueled by the state’s proximity to the Golden Crescent, a major international narcotics corridor. Persistent unemployment and mounting social pressures have further aggravated the problem. Adding to the complexity is the alleged involvement of political actors and organised international smuggling networks, which continues to pose one of the toughest challenges in dismantling the drug trade and freeing the state from its grip.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Punjab once again reported the highest number of drug overdose deaths in the country in 2023, registering 89 fatalities. Although this marks a decline from 144 deaths in 2022, the state still topped the national list, surpassing Rajasthan (84) and Madhya Pradesh (85). A large number of deaths go unreported, as parents don’t want to highlight the involvement of the family.
A study by the doctors at PGIMER, Chandigarh, found that underreporting is common in rural and border districts, where families often avoid disclosing drug-related causes of death.
Official figures submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court reveal a sharp escalation in overdose deaths between April 2020 and March 2023, with 266 fatalities linked to narcotic and psychotropic substances. The toll rose steeply each year—from 36 deaths in 2020–21 to 159 in 2022–23. Districts such as Bathinda, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, and rural Amritsar accounted for a substantial share of these cases.
A 2022 survey estimated that 15.4% of Punjab’s population uses some form of intoxicant. Some studies have placed the prevalence of substance abuse among young adults even higher, reaching up to 65.5% in certain samples.
The 2016 Bollywood movie ‘Udta Punjab’ had also highlighted the nexus of drug cartels, corruption, and youth addiction. Ever since then, the problem has only increased as inter-border drug smuggling through land, water, and aerial means—the drones have made the case more complex. The same consignments are also reaching Himachal Pradesh and other parts of the country.
Between January 2024 and April 2025, the Punjab agencies confirmed 782 overdose deaths in the state. Himachal Pradesh is also seeing a spurt.
“Punjab’s 553-kilometre border with Pakistan positions it as a major route for heroin trafficking. Smugglers are increasingly relying on drones and complex networks of local couriers to transport drugs across the border. Even during the flood situation in Punjab, some aborted attempts were made to push drug consignments from the Pakistan side”, a senior BSF official shared this information with India Narrative.
However, the people are so fed up with the drug situation and overdose deaths, they are asking for strong public action against the peddlers and helping the addicts ( victims) to undertake de-addiction courses.
In Ferozepur—one of the worst affected Punjab districts, where overdose deaths have already made families lose young family members, in some cases, the only son—the people held a protest and offered to assist the police and other agencies to wipe out drugs.
In Himachal Pradesh, the Chief Minister has started the “anti-Chitta” movement and announced a reward scheme for persons providing information to the police to nab the drug smugglers and mafia gangs. He prizes money, for every catch will be between Rs 5000 to 10 lakhs.
During the “Anti-Chitta Awareness Walkathon” in Dharamshala on December 1, 2024, Sukhu declared that there is “no place for chitta in Dev Bhoomi Himachal.” “I will act not as a leader or chief minister but as a ‘shield’ to protect the state’s youth,” he declared.
