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Ludhiana: Unified efforts against drugs must, says Mundian
Addressing a district-level meeting of village and ward defence committees of Ludhiana in Mullanpur Dakha, Mundian said the campaign is set to become a transformative movement
Asserting that no stone would be left unturned until the drug menace is eradicated and traffickers are brought to justice, Punjab housing and urban development minister Hardeep Singh Mundian on Saturday called for unified efforts by people to ensure success of the state government’s Yudh Nashian Viruddh (war against drugs) campaign.
Addressing a district-level meeting of village and ward defence committees of Ludhiana in Mullanpur Dakha, Mundian said the campaign is set to become a transformative movement.
The event, which saw the presence of several MLAs, party leaders, sarpanches and panches of villages besides defence committee members among others, saw the minister highlighting the government’s crackdown on the drug supply chain with major traffickers arrested and their illegally acquired properties confiscated or demolished, a “first in Punjab’s history”. He announced plans to take the anti-drug campaign to every household, fostering a people’s movement.
He added that the campaign encourages youth to embrace drug-free lives and join this initiative. He alleged that the previous governments shielded traffickers for political gain. He urged the defence committees to organise awareness activities at the village and ward levels. “Chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is safeguarding Punjab’s interests, whether it is the issue of drugs or water rights. A special session of the Punjab legislative assembly has been called on May 5 to address these concerns,” he said while criticising the central government and Haryana for previously “attempting to undermine Punjab’s water rights and causing losses to Punjab’s industries by granting concessions to neighbouring states”.
During the meeting, Mundian administered a pledge to attendees, urging them to act as guardians of their communities and root out the drug menace. MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi issued a stern warning to drug peddlers: Abandon the trade or leave Punjab. He emphasised that the police have been empowered to act decisively, with many peddlers already jailed.
Deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain, police commissioner Swapan Sharma, SSP (Ludhiana rural) Ankur Gupta and Khanna SSP Jyoti Yadav Bains underscored the collective responsibility in this fight, emphasising that collaboration between the administration, police and public is key to victory.
MLAs Rajinderpal Kaur Chhina, Madan Lal Bagga, Kulwant Singh Sidhu, Hakam Singh Thekedar and Saravjit Kaur Manuke, alongside Punjab GENCO Board chairman Navjot Singh Jarg, district planning committee chairman Sharanpal Singh Makkar, AAP senior leader Dr KNS Kang, district president (rural) Gurdarshan Singh Kuhli, Drug De-addiction Front-Punjab zonal coordinator Sukhjit Singh among others were also present.
