ਪੰਜਾਬ Finance ਮੰਤਰੀ Harpal Singh Cheema said on Saturday that drug abuse in the state is almost gone. He encouraged ਲੋਕ still using drugs to leave the habit and rebuild their lives.
His statement came just days after ਪੰਜਾਬ DGP Gaurav Yadav gave a deadline of May 31 to arrest all drug traffickers in the state.
Cheema asked ਪਿੰਡ defence committees to watch out for drug peddling and support addicts in getting treatment. He blamed the earlier governments for not taking strong action and said they were focused more on family politics.
Cheema said that under CM Bhagwant Singh Mann’s leadership, drug addiction has almost ended. He praised the public for their support in the campaign and urged everyone to help addicts recover by contacting the ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ administration and ਪੁਲਿਸ for proper help.
ਪੰਜਾਬ Health ਮੰਤਰੀ Balbir Singh announced that the ਸਰਕਾਰ will start “Nasha Mukti Yatras” (Drug-Free Marches) across ਪੰਜਾਬ from May 7. The goal is to involve more ਲੋਕ in the fight against drugs.
At a ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ meeting in Mohali, he said the ਸਰਕਾਰ is working in two ways — catching drug dealers and helping addicts by teaching them skills and giving financial help.
He also said ਪੁਲਿਸ have been seizing large amounts of drugs and the Health Department has improved the number of beds in de-addiction centres to 5,000. With help from NGOs, they’ve also started skill training for recovering addicts.
MP Malvinder Singh Kang asked ਲੋਕ to report anyone selling drugs to the ਪੁਲਿਸ.
