Won’t rest till drug menace is thing of the past: Aman Arora

Ludhiana: Cabinet minister Aman Arora announced on Thursday that the Punjab govt would not rest till the drug menace had been eradicated completely and drug smugglers had been reined in. During a meeting with civil and police officials at Police Lines under the "Yudh Nashya Virudh" programme, Arora, who is a member of the five-member cabinet sub-committee formed to combat the drug menace, said that drug peddlers could either surrender or be prepared to face serious consequences. Accompanied by revenue minister Hardeep Singh Mundian, Arora expressed confidence in the strength and intelligence of the Punjab Police. He said that eliminating the drug menace was a collective responsibility and urged people to support the police, who had been given a free hand to take action against peddlers.
Arora said that from March 1 to 4, Punjab Police registered 580 NDPS cases and nominated 789 accused, besides recovering 170 kg drugs. He also said that 60 illegal properties had been demolished across Punjab and urged people to provide tip-offs about drug peddlers. He asked the health department to check chemist shops and quacks.
Rajya Sabha MP Sanjiv Arora, MLAs Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina, Madan Lal Bagga, Daljit Singh Grewal, Ashok Parashar Pappi, Kulwant Singh Sidhu, Manvinder Singh Giaspura, Jagtar Singh Dyalpura, mayor Inderjit Kaur and District Planning Board chairman Sharanpal Singh Makkar also offered suggestions for effective action against the drug peddlers. They assured full support to police officials in the anti-drug drive.
Police commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal, SSP, Ludhiana Rural Dr Ankur Gupta, and Khanna SSP Jyoti Yadav told the cabinet minister that properties worth hundreds of crores belonging to the drug peddlers had been frozen so far, and their illegal encroachments had been demolished. They said that the "big fish" among the drug peddlers are being arrested daily and their network would be crushed soon.
Civil surgeon Dr Pradeep Kumar Mohindra said that the district has 46 OOAT centres, and these have a daily OPD of 20 to 40 patients.
Strategy against drug menace:
Deputy commissioner (DC) Jitendra Jorwal said that prevention and enforcement activities are being conducted on a large scale
De-addiction and rehab institutions are being strengthened to provide proper treatment and counselling for individuals struggling with addiction
These individuals will be offered various job opportunities and skill enhancement through training programmes, empowering them to earn a livelihood
The administration is preparing a proposal to upgrade a local hospital and make it a modern de-addiction and rehabilitation centre
The DC said that the administration would organise a marathon to sensitise the community against drugs this month
Small video clips in theatres or on social media, wall paintings, and five-minute talks on drug abuse in school daily during assembly would be ensured to make it a mass movement.
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