CHANDIGARH: Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria flagged off a foot march, Pad Yatra, against drug abuse from the Kartarpur Corridor, urging people to turn it into a public movement (Jan Andolan).
"Until the public supports the cause, no government can eradicate the menace of drugs that has been plaguing the state," he said.
The march, which began today, will conclude on April 8 at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. Kataria will walk through villages in the border districts of Gurdaspur and Amritsar over six days to mobilise public awareness.
Yesterday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accompanied by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, led a massive oath-taking ceremony in Ludhiana as part of his government's Yuddh Nashayan Viruddh (War on Drugs) campaign.
Hundreds of schoolchildren participated in the yatra, which passed through various streets and markets of the border town of Dera Baba Nanak before culminating at St Francis Convent School.
Kataria said his previous visits to border villages revealed the alarming rise in drug abuse and the increasing challenge of narcotics smuggling from Pakistan via drones.
"When I visited a border district, mothers and sisters told me that their main concern was saving their children from drugs. Their pain was clear as they watched their children suffer," he said.
He called drug trafficking a "big conspiracy by Pakistan," accusing the neighbouring country of waging a "narco-terror war" to weaken India's youth. "The Union government has provided anti-drone systems to the Border Security Force, while the Punjab government has also allocated funds for the same," he added.
"Through this programme, we will show Punjab and the nation how to make India free from drugs. I promise to honour and respect your efforts," he said.
On the Yuddh Nashayan Viruddh campaign, he stressed the need for Punjab Police to target major figures in the illegal drug trade and deliver concrete results.