Punjab Chief Minister <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/countdown-for-bhagwant-manns-govt-has-started-crisis-brewing-in-punjab-aap-claims-bjp-23480920" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Bhagwant Mann</a> on Friday convened a meeting with senior officials and set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free.
To give a renewed push to the state's anti-drug campaign, Mann said the government will set up special courts that will ensure speedy trial in drug cases and conviction of those found guilty.
The meeting was held a day after a five-member sub-committee of Cabinet ministers was formed to monitor the ongoing drive against drug menace in the state.
The sub-committee -- headed by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and comprising state ministers Aman Arora, Balbir Singh, Laljit Singh Bhullar and Tarunpreet Singh Sond -- has been tasked with overseeing the measures taken by the police and the health department to tackle the menace of drugs and implement de-addiction programmes.
Friday's meeting was attended by deputy commissioners and senior superintendents and commissioners of police from across the state.
Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav and the members of the sub-committee were also present.
According to an official statement, Mann said that preventive measures should be taken in schools and colleges so that the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-crime-news/article/malad-school-horror-3-year-old-girl-says-monster-hurt-her-23483900" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">youth do not fall prey to the scourge of drugs.</a>
The education department will take necessary steps to introduce courses detailing the downside of drug addiction, Mann said.
The chief minister also said the supply lines should be snapped and drug-sellers should be put behind bars.
The state government will ensure that the drug-peddlers and their families do not get any subsidy, or free power and water, so that it acts as a deterrent, Mann said.
Exhorting that the war against drugs should be transformed into a mass campaign, Mann asked the officials to plan bigger actions.
The chief minister also said that properties of those convicted in drugs cases should be seized with immediate effect.
Citing the example of a drug smuggler whose illegal property in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/ludhiana-court-issues-arrest-warrant-against-actor-sonu-sood-in-fraud-case-23479658" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Ludhiana </a>district was razed on Thursday, Mann announced the construction of a library on the 'Shamlat' land (common land) in the village where the property stood.
Punjab won the war against militancy in the past, and now all the concerned officers in the state will play a major role in the war against drugs, Mann said.
He also directed the police officers present at the meeting to ensure that no drugs are available in the state within the next three months.
The role of the SSPs will be evaluated every month to see the progress of the anti-drugs campaign in their respective districts, the chief minister said, adding that action will be taken against the non-performers.
Strict action will also be initiated against "police officers involved in consumption or promotion of drugs", he said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Harpal Singh Cheema and Aman Arora said the state government has declared a war against drugs under its new campaign -- 'Yudh Nashia Virudh' -- and the efforts are being intensified further.
"We are committed to making Punjab drug-free," Cheema said, adding that the government intends to send a clear warning to the drug smugglers -- either leave Punjab, or give up illegal activities.
Referring to the recent <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/dream-homes-destroyed-families-left-on-footpath-after-illegal-building-demolition-in-nalasopara-23470752" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">demolition of illegally-constructed houses of some drug peddlers</a> across Ludhiana, Patiala and Rupnagar districts, Cheema said, "We may have to use the bulldozer or initiate other strict actions."
"Our ministers will be on the ground round-the-clock and a team of officers will monitor the action being taken to end the drug menace at the village, tehsil and district levels," Cheema said.
Arora blamed the previous Congress and Akali regimes for the state of affairs, saying the drug menace spread its tentacles when they were in power.&nbsp;
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The education department will take necessary steps to introduce courses detailing the downside of drug addiction, Punjab CM Mann said.


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Mann said that preventive measures should be taken in schools and colleges so that the youth do not fall prey to the scourge of drugs

Punjab: CM Bhagwant Mann sets deadline of three months to make state drug-free

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