Jalandhar: Faced with sharp criticism following the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa on October 13, the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab on Friday launched a targeted 60-day plan to dismantle drug networks, focusing primarily on 435 identified hotspots.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann chaired a high-level review of the state’s Yudh Nashean Virudh (War Against Drugs) campaign at the Punjab Police Academy in Phillaur, bringing together deputy commissioners, senior superintendents of police, sub divisional magistrates (SDMs), and deputy superintendents of police (DSPs). Each zone will be monitored directly by gazetted officers from both police and civil administration. The recovery plan, headed by DCs, relies on joint action across government sectors to ensure illicit operations do not resurface. The local government will install CCTV cameras and streetlighting, while the health department expands de-addiction services. Simultaneously, the education department will run awareness campaigns involving students and parents, and the sports department will launch youth athletic programmes. Weekly progress reports will be mandatory for senior officials overseeing these initiatives. The state’s broader anti-drug drive began with an initial focus on supply disruption and addict rehabilitation.
A subsequent phase mobilised 1.5 lakh volunteers under the Pinda de Pehredaar initiative to form VDCs, laying the groundwork for the ongoing rural outreach campaign and the new 60-day hotspot strategy.
Director general of police Gaurav Yadav said that over the next two months, the state’s strategy will shift from an arrest-centric approach to a network-centric model designed to disrupt supply chains and neutralise financial incentives.
