How a Homemaker Turned Sarpanch Helped Push Drugs Out of 5 Himachal Villages

The school courtyard is louder than usual. A group of teenagers stand in a semicircle, some holding hand-painted banners and others mid-dialogue in a street play. Their voices rise in unison: a warning against drugs, a plea for a better future.

At the edge of the crowd, 49-year-old Lata Devi watches quietly. There’s no applause from her, no interruption, just a faint and relieved smile.

For a moment, her eyes linger on the children, on their confidence, their clarity, their refusal to look away from a problem that once consumed their villages. In those small hands gripping banners, she sees something she had once only hoped for: change taking root.

“I want the youth to be stronger and more focused towards building a better future for themselves,” she tells The Better India. 

Watching them now, it feels like that dream is inching closer to reality.

Across her district in Himachal Pradesh and five villages under her former panchayat, the grip of drugs has begun to loosen. But this story doesn’t begin here.

It begins with a quiet alarm, a growing crisis, and a woman who refuses to ignore it.

When a silent crisis took hold

In Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district, drug use didn’t arrive with noise; it crept in quietly. What began as occasional alcohol abuse among young men slowly evolved into something far more dangerous. By the late 2010s, ‘chitta’ — a cheap, highly addictive form of heroin (drug)  had started circulating through villages.

At first, there were whispers. Then, it became a pattern — young boys skipping school, turning suddenly aggressive at home, even stealing from their own families to sustain their addiction. Over time, the consequences grew more severe; as dependency deepened, many lost control and some, tragically, lost their lives. 

“There were sudden deaths of young boys, most times in mysterious circumstances, probably due to overdose,” recalls former Superintendent of Police IPS Bhagat Thakur, who served in the district until late 2024.

The problem wasn’t just addiction; it was invisibility. Families hesitated to report, and children stayed silent, and in those close-knit rural communities, denial often ran deep.

It was around this time, back in 2014, that a homemaker named Lata Devi began noticing something was off.

A homemaker who refused to look away

Lata Devi’s world, at the time, was largely confined to her home. Married into a conservative joint family in Hamirpur, she spent years navigating social restrictions. But 2014 marked a quiet turning point.

She began volunteering with a local NGO, Asha Deep Jan Sanstha, supporting girls’ education and helping families with basic needs.

“We used to help with small things, right from fees to support during marriages; around 70–80 people worked together,” she recalls.

It was through this work that she began noticing the early signs of drug abuse inside homes. Whether it was extreme aggression, domestic violence, or assaults, Lata started paying close attention to these changes.

At that point, the issue was still emerging — alcohol, smoking, and early-stage substance use.

But within a few years, things escalated. “By 2018–19, drugs started coming in bulk, and a lot of children began getting addicted,” she says.

One incident stayed with her.

“A boy nearby started taking drugs. He began beating his mother. One day, he overdosed and died within two days,” she adds.

That was the moment the issue stopped being abstract.

From awareness to action

Lata Devi didn’t begin with large campaigns or institutional support.

She started with conversations. Through women’s self-help groups and Anganwadi networks, she began spreading awareness — urging mothers to observe their children closely, to notice behavioural shifts, and to speak up.

“I told them to take care of their homes; watch their children closely, their habits, their friendships, and the small changes that often go unnoticed,” she says.

Slowly, those conversations turned into action.

She organised small rallies, often led by women. They sang local songs, raised slogans in Pahadi, and spoke openly about addiction. Then came street plays.

“We showed how a child’s life gets destroyed by drugs and how everything ends through small plays and songs,” she says.

The idea was simple: make the invisible visible. But one of her most powerful interventions came when she turned to the children themselves.

Building change through children

Lata Devi realised that prevention had to start early. So she created Bal Panchayats — children’s councils that became safe spaces for students to learn, speak, and seek help.

With support from local schools, she began conducting regular awareness sessions, without disrupting academics.

Principal Daljit Singh Chauhan of Government Senior Secondary School, Hamirpur, remembers the shift clearly.

In the early days, the signs were visible inside classrooms too.

“Earlier, some children were getting involved in drugs. It reflected in their behaviour — they became aggressive, disengaged, and lost interest in studies,” recalls Chauhan.

The response wasn’t immediate or easy; there was hesitation and even resistance.

“Some children didn’t want to participate, especially those already affected. We had to bring in parents, speak to them, and slowly build trust,” he adds.

That’s when the approach shifted from one-off awareness to sustained engagement.

Regular skits, street plays, and awareness sessions, led by Lata Devi, local women, and the students themselves, became a consistent feature in school and village life. 

Children didn’t just watch; they performed, questioned, and carried those conversations back home. Rallies moved beyond school gates into markets and neighbourhoods, making the issue visible to everyone.

Over time, this steady, community-led visibility began to have a ripple effect. Awareness deepened, not just among students, but across families. 

Conversations that were once avoided became more open, and those involved in selling drugs, who earlier operated openly, grew more cautious as the village became more alert and watchful.

Gradually, the change became evident.

“Attendance has gone up, confidence among students is visibly stronger, and the difference between then and now is clear and significant,” Chauhan says.

Importantly, these sessions went beyond just drugs. They addressed peer pressure, personal safety, and emotional well-being, helping children navigate a wider set of challenges.

“She created a space where children could talk freely, even about things they couldn’t tell teachers or parents,” he adds.

When leadership meets lived reality

In 2021, Lata Devi contested local elections and lost by just six votes. “People feared that if I won, I would stop their illegal work,” she says.

But the loss didn’t slow her down. She continued building her campaign, expanding networks, strengthening awareness, and deepening community trust.

When she became Sarpanch in 2023, she finally had the authority to scale her efforts.

“When you have the chair, you have the power to act,” she says.

With that came structure — regular school sessions, scheduled village meetings, parent engagement, and closer coordination with authorities. The groundwork she had laid over years now began translating into visible results.

Taking the fight to the system

As community awareness strengthened, Lata Devi pushed for institutional backing.

“I wrote to the SP and requested him to visit my panchayat,” she says.

That collaboration became a turning point. When IPS Bhagat Thakur took charge as Superintendent of Police in 2024, the district launched a ‘War Against Drugs’ mission, one that leaned as much on community participation as enforcement.

“Society must act as the eyes and ears of the police,” Thakur says.

The strategy was clear: support those already affected, prevent new users through awareness, and act against supply through intelligence.

Schools became central to this effort. “We adopted 41 schools and conducted regular awareness programmes,” he adds.

To build trust, dedicated helplines allowed anonymous reporting. “People want to share information, but they often don’t want to reveal their identity, and we respected that,” he adds.

The response was strong. “We began receiving frequent information, and we acted on it promptly,” he says.

At the same time, the approach towards users evolved.

“A child who is addicted should be treated as a victim; he needs empathy and support, not punishment,” Thakur emphasises.

A shift you can see

Between 2023 and 2026, Lata Devi’s panchayat recorded an estimated 80% reduction in drug-related incidents, but the deeper transformation is visible in everyday life.

“Earlier, drug use was out in the open. Now, it has been pushed into the shadows,” she says.

Children who had begun drifting away are returning to school, and participation in sports and activities has noticeably increased. Families, too, are more aware and actively involved.

“Our children are much safer now,” she adds.

Principal Chauhan has witnessed this shift firsthand. “Students are now more focused on their studies and spend more time at home, something that wasn’t the case earlier,” he says.

Even within the police force, the change is evident. “The biggest success has been building trust; people now believe that they can fight this problem,” says Thakur.

This isn’t the result of a single intervention; it’s the outcome of alignment across the community.

A homemaker stepping into leadership. A school system willing to adapt. A police force that chose to listen. And a community that decided to act.

Together, they created a grassroots awareness network, a school-led prevention model, and a strong community-police intelligence system. 

Most importantly, they began replacing silence with action.

The road ahead

Despite the progress, Lata Devi is clear that the fight is far from over.

“This is only the beginning. I still have a long way to go,” she says.

Her focus now is on sustaining this momentum, keeping young people engaged in sports, education, and meaningful community activities.

“I want to make my youth stronger and guide them towards the right path,” she adds.

For Bhagat Thakur, the message is equally clear. “The police alone cannot solve this problem; every parent and every individual must take responsibility,” he says.

And for educators like Chauhan, the lesson lies in consistency. “Change does not happen overnight, but with patience and continuous effort, it is possible,” he says.

What makes this effort stand out is its simplicity and its ability to be replicated.

It doesn’t depend on large funding or external agencies but on local leadership, early intervention in schools, active parent involvement, and strong trust between the community and the police.

“If similar efforts are implemented in other areas, they can make a significant difference,” Chauhan says.

A message that stays

Back in the school courtyard, the play comes to an end. The banners are lowered, the voices soften, but the message lingers.

For Lata Devi, that message is everything.

“If even ten children improve because of me, that is my reward,” she says.

And perhaps that is where real change begins, not in sweeping solutions, but in small, consistent acts of courage. In one person choosing to speak up, a school choosing to listen, and a community choosing not to look away because sometimes, that is all it takes to begin.

All images courtesy Lata Devi

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com