On the occasion of Independence Day, Punjab Government honored the members of Village and Ward Defense Committees who played active role in the campaign against drug abuse. The government is now preparing to link the 'Yudh Nashean Viruddh' campaign with public participation at the grassroots level, instead of limiting it to just administrative action.
knews Desk- To further strengthen the 'Yudh Nashean Viruddh' campaign being run against drugs in Punjab, the government honored people working at the community level on the occasion of Independence Day. Members of Village Defense Committees and Ward Defense Committees were honored for their contribution. Along with this, the process of special review and action has also been started for the next two weeks under the campaign.
The main objective of this entire exercise is to link the feedback received from the village and ward level with the regular review system of the administration and police. The activities under the campaign will also be featured prominently on national days and other major government events. A decision in this regard was taken in the state level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on August 2.
Grassroots fight against drugs
Under the campaign, members of Village Defense Committees and Ward Defense Committees, who played an active role in awareness and action against drug addiction in their areas, were honored. The government believes that the ongoing campaign against drugs can be made more effective with the participation of local people.
Deputy Commissioners at the district level honored the Assembly Coordinators and Vice Assembly Coordinators. At the same time, at the sub-division level, block coordinators were honored by the SDM.
Special programs were also organized in villages. During these programs held in schools and gram panchayats, sarpanches and local people honored the members of village defense committees. Through these programs, the message of community participation was given in building a drug-free Punjab.
Meetings will be held in villages from 16 to 25 August
The government has directed the Deputy Commissioners of all 23 districts to identify active Village and Ward Defense Committee members. These members are being honored keeping in mind their contribution and participation in the campaign.
In the next episode of the campaign, meetings of Village Defense Committees will be organized in every village from 16 to 25 August. Complaints related to drug trafficking will be reviewed in these meetings. Also, the action taken by the police and administration on the complaints received earlier will be reviewed.
The status of pending cases will also be discussed and as per need, new suggestions and local level feedback will be sent to the administration. The aim of the government is to understand the real situation of drug related problems through these meetings and make the action more effective.
Review at district level from 26 to 29 August
After the feedback received from the villages, review meetings will be organized at the district level between 26 to 29 August. These meetings will be presided over by the Cabinet Minister. Along with senior officials of the administration and police, representatives of the health department and district, assembly and block level coordinators will also attend the meeting.
In these meetings, the complaints and suggestions received from the villages will be reviewed. Also, a decision will be taken on further strategy and necessary action against drug addiction.
Chief Minister will review the campaign on August 31
This entire process, which will last for two weeks, will conclude on August 31. A state level review meeting will be organized under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. In this, the progress of the campaign will be taken stock in all the districts.
An action plan for the next phase of the campaign will be prepared on the basis of reports and feedback received at the district level during the meeting. The government's focus is on taking action against drugs as well as increasing the participation of the society and local community. In this way, an attempt is being made to make the 'War Against Drugs' campaign a comprehensive public campaign along with an administrative campaign.