Monthly meetings of Village Defense Committees should be organized in every district: Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann

Chandigarh: Expressing satisfaction over the success of the ongoing ‘Yudh Nashiyan Viruddh’ campaign in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann today directed the Deputy Commissioners, Police Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police to further intensify this campaign until Punjab is completely free from the evil of drugs.

CM Mann’s big statement    

Presiding over a virtual meeting organized to review the work of Village Defense Committees, the Chief Minister said that this campaign has succeeded in breaking the supply line of drugs and putting big smugglers behind the bars, thereby breaking the back of the curse of drug addiction. He said that there should not be any laxity in this campaign and efforts should be made to take more powerful action at the ground level, more public participation and to restore confidence in the villages, so that by maintaining this momentum, a decisive victory can be achieved against drugs.

Sharing some excerpts from the meeting, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann wrote on Twitter, “Today, from the Lake View Guest House in Bathinda, I held an important review meeting through video conference with all the Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police under the ‘Yudh Nashiyan Virudh’ campaign. Strict instructions have been given to all the officers to intensify action at the ground level for the complete eradication of drugs. Under our ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy against drug smugglers. “The action is continuing. Saving the young generation of Punjab is our top priority. Let us all together make Punjab drug free and take the state to new heights of progress.”

During this, the Chief Minister said, “The supply line of drugs has already been broken and the big smugglers involved in this heinous crime have been sent behind the bars. The pace of this campaign has to be maintained and the need of the hour is to intensify it further until Punjab becomes completely drug free.”

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the members of the Village Defense Committees were discharging their responsibilities effectively and they had filed more than 13,000 complaints against drug smugglers in the last three months alone. He said, “In the districts where Village Defense Committees are relatively less active, they should be motivated for active participation in this public interest mission. Meetings of Village Defense Committees should be organized every month in each district and I myself will review their work in the monthly state level meetings.”

The Chief Minister said that the drug problem is a global challenge, but nowhere in the world has such a determined and comprehensive campaign been launched against it. He said, “A strong force of 1.50 lakh members of Village Defense Committees has been created to make Punjab drug-free. Public participation is extremely important as this fight against drugs has to be transformed into a mass movement. Drug addiction is a social problem and people’s participation is equally important to ensure continuity of this campaign.”

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann directed the DCs and SSPs to seek cooperation from every section of the society to ensure that drugs are not sold anywhere in their areas and every drug addict is pulled out of this quagmire. “To build confidence among the people, police teams should regularly visit villages and interact with local people to know the ground reality. The identity of Village Defense Committee members or any citizen giving information about drug smugglers should be kept completely confidential,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that the State Government has paid special attention to breaking the supply chain of drugs by arresting drug smugglers and sending them behind bars. He said, “As the crackdown on drug traffickers was tightened, the supply of drugs got affected, as a result of which a large number of drug addicts started reaching de-addiction and rehabilitation centres. Therefore, the government has established a wide network of de-addiction and rehabilitation centers with the aim of de-addiction and making the victims able to live a life with dignity and self-respect.”

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann further said that under the ‘War Against Drugs’ campaign, the capacity of the existing drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centers has been significantly increased. “Many new centers have been set up and the quality of services and overall environment in the existing centers have been vastly improved, including facilities like air conditioning. The number of beds in government-run de-addiction and rehabilitation centers has been increased from 1,500 to 5,000,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that OAT centers have also been upgraded and continuous availability of essential medicines has been ensured. He said, “New OAT centers were established wherever the need was felt, increasing their total number from 529 to 565. The authorities should ensure adequate availability of medicines, essential materials and beds in all OAT centers and de-addiction centers under their jurisdiction.”

Highlighting the ‘Soorma’ initiative, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that it is a unique program under which individuals are honored who have overcome drug addiction and have been free from addiction for more than two years. He said, “These ‘Surmas’ will now inspire other people to give up drug addiction and will work with the government as ‘Envoys of De-addiction’ to make Punjab completely drug-free.

The Chief Minister said that this initiative is a symbol of the unwavering commitment of the state government towards eradicating drugs. He said, “These individuals represent the true spirit of the ‘War on Drugs’ campaign. Their struggle and determination pave the way for Rangle Punjab. They are our ambassadors of hope and the government will continue to invest in de-addiction centres, skill development and efforts to end the social stigma associated with drug addiction, so that every de-addiction person can live a life of dignity and get better livelihood opportunities.”

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is a historic moment as the state government has launched a decisive campaign against this scourge by adopting ‘zero tolerance’ policy against drugs. He said, “Punjab Police has a proud history of successfully dealing with challenging law and order situations. I am confident that this force will continue this glorious tradition and with the active cooperation of the public, Punjab will be completely drug free. It is the greatest need of the hour to save the coming generations from this dreadful problem of drugs.”

The Chief Minister said that this fight against drugs can be won only through well-organized planning and effective implementation at the micro level, for which every officer will have to play an active role. He said, “The state government is making collective efforts to give a positive direction to the energy of the youth power of Punjab. This is an extraordinary fight and for this, the government as well as every officer associated with this mission will have to adopt innovative thinking and take effective initiatives away from the traditional methods.”