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Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the state government has begun a massive movement against the drug peddlers in the state under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Mann.
Cheema added that the government has formed a committee called 'War on Drug Campaign' with him as the chairman. A meeting of deputy commissioners, SSPs and senior officials has been called and they have been instructed to eradicate drug abuse from the state. "We had opened a huge movement against drug peddlers under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Mann... Now a new committee has been set up with me as the Chairman, called War on Drug Campaign. A meeting of Dy Commissioners, SSPs and senior officers of police had been called today... We have instructed them to eradicate drug abuse...", Harpal Singh Cheema said while speaking to ANI on Friday. On Monday, the Punjab government announced an intensive crackdown against drug abuse in the state and directed law enforcement agencies to initiate large-scale operations in the coming days. To mitigate the distress that may arise among habitual drug users, district administrations have been instructed to ensure the availability of adequate rehabilitation and de-addiction facilities. "The Punjab Government has decided to launch a massive war against drugs in the coming weeks through Law Enforcement Agencies. The action will start in the next few days," read the state department press release. "This could cause distress amongst habitual users of drugs. To slowly wean them away from drugs, all DCs are hereby directed to ensure an adequate number of rehab and Drug De-addiction centres equipped with necessary equipment and medicines including Buprenorphine medicine, testing kits, required staff etc. Preparations should be done on a war footing and each DC should be ready in the next two days," added the statement. The order further emphasizes, "Respective DC shall be personally responsible for ensuring this and any laxity in this regard shall invite strict disciplinary action. Entire exercise shall be personally monitored by the undersigned." Apart from this, a senior IAS office has been asked to inspect all centres to review the preparation. "Sandeep Kumar, IAS shall visit all centres during this period on behalf of the undersigned and report any deficiency directly," said the order. (ANI)
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