Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday, 26 May 2026, urged young people and students to report suspected drug use in their schools and neighbourhoods to police, and announced an 'Anti-Chitta Walkathon' in Shimla on 5 June to mobilise public participation in making the state free of the synthetic drug 'chitta'.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X, CM Sukhu expressed satisfaction at growing awareness among children and youth against drug abuse. He wrote: 'नशे के विरुद्ध बच्चों और युवाओं में बढ़ती जागरूकता देखकर अत्यंत प्रसन्नता हो रही है' ('It is extremely heartening to see growing awareness among children and youth against drug abuse'). He specifically called out 'chitta' — a street name for heroin-based synthetic drugs widely circulated in Himachal Pradesh — as a threat that traffickers deliberately direct at school and college students.

The Chief Minister warned that drug traffickers specifically target youth between the ages of 17 and 25 years, seeking to damage their futures, families, and society simultaneously. He appealed to young people to immediately inform police if anyone in their school, college, or neighbourhood appears to be in the grip of chitta.

Policy Backdrop

Himachal Pradesh, a northern hill state with a population of approximately seven million, has seen drug abuse among adolescents flagged as a growing concern by state authorities in recent years. The state's geography — bordering Punjab and sharing transit routes used by trafficking networks — has made it particularly vulnerable to the spread of synthetic opioids.

At the national level, the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, launched in August 2020 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, targets substance abuse in educational institutions through school and college outreach programmes. The foundational legal framework remains the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, which governs drug trafficking penalties across India. CM Sukhu's community-mobilisation approach complements these central initiatives without requiring fresh federal funding mandates.

Stakeholders and Impact

The walkathon and reporting appeal are directed primarily at students, youth aged 17 to 25, and their families across Himachal Pradesh. State police are positioned as the first point of contact for tip-offs, placing operational responsibility on local law enforcement to act on community intelligence. Schools and colleges are implicitly expected to serve as nodes for spreading the anti-drug message.

Indian state governments have increasingly adopted community walks, reporting hotlines, and campus programmes to counter rising synthetic drug and opioid use among adolescents. Border and hill states face similar challenges with trafficking networks that specifically target educational campuses, making citizen-participation models like this walkathon a recurring feature of state-level counter-narcotics strategy.

What's Next

All eyes will be on the turnout at the 'Anti-Chitta Walkathon' in Shimla on 5 June 2026, which will serve as a gauge of public engagement with the state government's anti-drug push. Observers will also watch whether the event is followed by concrete administrative steps — such as new police reporting protocols, expanded de-addiction facilities, or fresh outreach programmes in schools — by the Himachal Pradesh education and police departments. The walkathon's scale and follow-through will determine whether it marks a sustained policy shift or remains a symbolic gesture in the state's fight against chitta.