Ruling out that Punjab chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh has failed to give shape to his oath of eradicating the drug menace from the state within four weeks, taken before the assembly polls, Punjab sports minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi said on Thursday that the oath was to “start” the work within four week.
“Has Captain Amarinder Singh failed to accomplish his pledge? No. Actually, Captain had said that he would start the work within four weeks in this direction. Eradication of the menace is not possible within a short period. We should understand the feelings of the CM.”
Sodhi, who was here to attend the concluding ceremony of the 10th Softball Federation Cup at Guru Nanak Dev University as the chief guest, said that the menace is breathing its last. “This stage is just like a lamp. When a lamp’s oil is over, the thread which is lighted starts shivering,” he said.
Reacting on the deaths taking place due to drug overdose in Punjab, the sports minister said, “What is happening in Punjab is the last jolt as the war against the menace has reached its decisive phase.”
Grilled by media over back to back deaths due to drugs, Sodhi said the menace cannot be uprooted overnight and it would take some time. He said the state government is making persistent efforts in this direction.
{{/usCountry}}Grilled by media over back to back deaths due to drugs, Sodhi said the menace cannot be uprooted overnight and it would take some time. He said the state government is making persistent efforts in this direction.
{{/usCountry}}He said that the state government was implementing a sports policy that would be helpful in uprooting the drug menace, besides providing the youth employment.
He said that they were organising school games in the month of October. He also announced a grant of ₹3 lakh to Punjab Softball Association from his discretionary fund.