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Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday apprised about the first meeting of the sub-committee on 'War on Drugs', saying that the government aims to eliminate drug abuse in the state.
He said the cabinet members will work at the district level, holding meetings with administrative (state and police) authorities. The sub-committee meetings will happen on weekly basis, Cheema added. "In the time to come, we will go into the district level, we will hold meetings with Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) and Deputy Commissioners DCs and after that we will hold the next meeting next week. We will see what progress has been made. We will have weekly meetings of the sub-committee, and we will monitor how the work is being done. We will end drug use in Punjab from its roots," Cheema told reporters. Highlighting efforts of the state government to "break the chain of drugs", the Punjab Minister argued for a health infrastructure for drug addicts to treat them. "When we break this chain of drugs and drug peddlers are sent to jail, I think there should be health infrastructure for drug addicts. There should be doctors for that. I appeal to the people of Punjab that if they feel anyone in their family is a drug addict or if they can see symptoms, they should take them to the hospital immediately. So that the person can be treated," Cheema added. The Punjab Minister further stated that the cabinet members have been assigned their duties to oversee districts. "The first meeting of our sub-committee on 'War on Drugs' was held today. In the meeting, all the members and cabinet colleagues were assigned their work. I, too, will take care of six districts. Aman Arora will oversee six districts. Tarunpreet Sond will also have six districts. Laljit Singh Bhullar will have five districts," he added. The Punjab government has begun a massive movement against the drug peddlers in the state under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Earlier, Cheema added that the government has formed a committee called 'War on Drug Campaign' with him as 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. 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. (ANI)
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