The "War on Drugs" campaign launched by the Punjab government under the leadership of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann to make the state drug-free will play a decisive role in making Punjab drug-free state, and people from every section of society should also cooperate to eradicate drugs.
These views were expressed by Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Balbir Singh while talking to the media after holding a meeting with the managers of private drug de-addiction centers of the district at the Government Rehabilitation Center located at Brahman Majra.
Dr. Balbir Singh gave a stern warning to the drug dealers and said that they should either give up the drug trafficking or leave Punjab. He said that we have to save the youth of the state, and those who pushed the youth of Punjab on the wrong path will not be spared under any circumstances. He also said that strict action will also be taken regarding the properties built by drug peddlers so that no one can trap the youth of Punjab in drugs again.
Dr. Singh said that in the campaign to create a drug-free society, the accountability of private drug de-addiction centers will be fixed, and it will be necessary for the managers of these centers to show their report card on how many drug addicts have been rehablitated. Issuing strict instructions to the managers of private drug de-addiction centers, the health minister said that these centers are running for drug de-addiction, not to sell narcotic pills.
Dr. Singh said that he will personally keep a close eye on the functioning of these centers, and ensure time to time checking of these centers. He said that if the matter of the sale of narcotic pills outside any private drug de-addiction center comes to his notice, strict action will be taken against the managers of the concerned center. He also inquired about psychiatrists from the managers of private drug de-addiction centers.
The Health Minister said that the Punjab government has been taking several steps to de-addict drug addicts and bring them into the mainstream of society. He said that in the war against drugs campaign, the government will also provide vocational training to the drug addicts, and after the training, they will be given loans under various government schemes for their self-employment.
The health minister urged women of the state that if any member of a family is trapped in the swamp of drugs, then they should bring that him to the government drug de-addiction center, and sternous efforts will be made to bring them into mainstream for their healthy and prosperous life.
On the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Sona Thind, SSP Mr. Shubham Agarwal, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Mr. Surinder Singh Dhaliwal, SDM Fatehgarh Sahib Mr. Arvind Gupta, Civil Surgeon Dr. Davinderjit Kaur, Deputy Medical Commissioner Dr. Sarita, District Vaccination Officer Dr. Rajesh Kumar, and other officials were also present.