Governor vows to rid city of drug menace
Chandigarh will soon be freed of drugs and made the first drug-free city in the country with zero tolerance towards smugglers and all others involved in the illegal trade, Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria has announced.
In an exclusive chat with The Tribune at Punjab Raj Bhavan here on Saturday, Kataria, who had already led a similar initiative in the border state recently, said a state-level war on drugs will be launched in the Union Territory with a mega “walk for drug-free Chandigarh” here on May 3.
The sustained campaign to combat drug abuse and make the Capital of Punjab and Haryana free of drugs will involve awareness, education and strict enforcement with zero tolerance for smugglers and all others involved in the illegal trade.
Kataria, 80, who is serving as Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator since July last, will lead the walk in which the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana, Bhagwant Singh Mann and Nayab Singh Saini, respectively, and the entire top brass from both the states and the UT Administration have been called to take part.
“The aim of the mega event will be to spread awareness against drug abuse and engage the community, particularly the youth, in the campaign against drugs,” said the UT Administrator.
Kataria said around 2,500 students from different government schools across the city would assemble at designated locations — GMSSS-16, 18, 22, and 23 — attired in proper school uniform and would march towards Tiranga Urban Park in Sector 17 here.
“Around 1,500 students, including NSS volunteers from different colleges, will assemble at designated locations and participate in the main event,” the UT top boss disclosed, while sharing that around 500 students will assemble at the Chandigarh Secretariat building in Sector 9 here.
He divulged that the mega event will also see the participation of eminent sportspersons, ex-servicemen, members and office-bearers of the Residents’ Welfare Associations, and employees and officials from the UT Administration, Chandigarh Housing Board, Education and Engineering departments, and the Municipal Corporation.
“With this, over 5,500 students and people from all age groups and walks of life will take a pledge to shun drugs and not let anyone sell, stock, or consume the contraband with a resolve to make Chandigarh a drug-free city soon,” Kataria said.
He revealed that a “tree of life”, a theme-based activity, had already been initiated to make Chandigarh drug-free. Under it, several competitions and activities involving the students like essay, slogan writing, and poster making contests have already begun in schools across the city.
He said the students of all government and private schools and colleges in Chandigarh would participate in the walk against drugs with 100-150 pupils from each school and college taking out the march in their respective areas while carrying placards against drug abuse on the coming Saturday.
“All students, thereafter, will assemble in their respective schools and colleges to watch the live webcast of the main event to be held at Tiranga Urban Park,” informed the Governor-cum-Administrator, while stating that arrangements were being made to screen the main event in different parts of the city with an aim to enable more than 1 lakh persons to virtually witness the event, which would also see a performance by the Military band.
Taking a significant step towards eradicating drug abuse and safeguarding the future of the youth, Kataria had on Saturday flagged off a state-level week-long campaign titled, “VADA” (Victory Against Drug Abuse). This initiative, aimed at fostering a drug-free society, was launched from the PM SHRI GMSSS in Dhanas, where a ‘wish tree’ was also installed on the campus. The campaign represented a joint effort by the government bodies, educational institutions, and community organisations to tackle the growing menace of drug abuse among the youth.
Chandigarh