CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government will give a grant of Rs 5 lakh to each village to purchase gym and sports equipment for youth to help keep them away from drugs.
Punjab Panchayats and Rural Development Minister Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa claimed on Sunday that the main supply line of drugs had been broken and only petty peddlers were still active. Every village that turns drug-free would get a grant of Rs 5 lakh to purchase gym and sports goods for youth, he declared.
“Today, I want to share my thoughts with you on a very sensitive and highly urgent matter. This is about the menace of drugs that is dominating the social media dialogue these days. Several highly concerned people have expressed their apprehension and I believe their worry is justified. This menace must be eradicated from its roots forever.”
Bajwa said that blaming others over the drug menace in the state was of no use. “Who is responsible for it? Where is it rooted? Rather than indulging in this blame game, we have to join hands to root it out,” Bajwa said in a statement issued through newspaper advertisements.
“With strong willpower of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and persistent efforts of his government, the main supply line of drugs like chitta has been broken. Only petty peddlers are active now in supplying in small quantities the poison, which also would be eradicated soon,” he said.
Web-based application launched
To ensure quality and set standards for pharmacies, the Punjab government has launched a web-based application with technical support from C-DAC Mohali.
Brahm Mohindra, Health and Family Welfare Minister, said that Food and Drugs Administration, Punjab (FDA) had developed the application, ‘Drug Information & Monitoring System’, gives users information about pharmacies in the area and the availability of medicines there.
He said that in the first phase, as a pilot project, “we are going to commence it from district Mohali (SAS Nagar).
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