BHUBANESWAR: Joining the national campaign against substance abuse and narcotics trade launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi pledged to make Odisha drug-free and warned the drug mafia and narcotics syndicates of strictest punishment, including bulldozer action.
Attending a function for commencement of the initiative along with Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati at Kalinga Stadium here, Majhi said the government will be unsparing to those who target the state’s youth. They will face severe consequences, he warned.
The chief minister said the Nishamukta Yuva-Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan (Drug-free youth, developed India pledge campaign) will continue for the next 100 weeks as a people’s movement involving educational institutions, youth organisations, volunteers, civil society and the media.
Describing drug abuse as a major social and economic challenge, the chief minister said narcotics not only damaged physical and mental health but also ruined families and hindered state’s development. Reiterating his government’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy against narcotics, Mahji said state police had destroyed illegal cannabis cultivation spread over 63,720 acre, valued at around Rs 1,911 crore, between July 2024 and June 2026.
Police had also registered 2,576 cases, arrested 3,699 people and seized 432 tonne of ganja worth approximately Rs 2,106 crore during the period, he said.
Expressing concern over the growing use of brown sugar, cannabis, synthetic and injectable drugs among young people, the chief minister referred to recent crackdown on drug networks in Bhubaneswar and Balasore. He warned drug traffickers to reform or be prepared for several legal consequences including bulldozer action.
The chief minister also appealed to the people to immediately report suspected drug-trafficking to the police and said that the government is strengthening rehabilitation and de-addiction facilities alongside enforcement measures.
Administering pledge to participants, Governor Kambhampati urged the youth to choose sports, education, fitness, yoga and community service over substance abuse. He said Odisha had emerged as one of India’s leading sporting destinations and called upon students to channel their energy into classrooms and playgrounds rather than drugs.
Sports and Youth Services minister Suryabanshi Suraj said students, NSS volunteers, My Bharat Youth Clubs and sports hostels would play a leading role in carrying the campaign across the state.
The programme was live-streamed at 453 locations across Odisha, drawing participation of more than 1.6 lakh people.