Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday administered the oath of office and DAPO to the newly elected Panches, Sarpanches, Zila Parishad and Block Samiti members of Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib districts, with a call to make their respective villages drugs-free while ensuring holistic development of their regions.
The Chief Minister said the elected representatives had a very important role to play in ending drug abuse and safeguarding the future of the coming generations.
“This is the first responsibility I am entrusting to you,” Capt Amarinder told the people’s representatives before administering them the oath of DAPO (Drug Abuse Prevention Officers). Pointing out that an entire generation had been wiped out by the menace of drugs, the Chief Minister said he had sworn to break the backbone of drugs and his government had achieved massive success in destroying the supply chain.
The DAPO and Buddy programmes, as well as the OATS clinics, had proven to be a huge success and it was now their responsibility to finish the problem of drug abuse, he told the elected members.
In his address, the Chief Minister observed that the Panches and Sarpanches had been elected through the grassroots Panchayati Raj process, which was the pillar of strength for the nation. Despite some political parties using unfair means in the Panchayati elections, which were increasingly seeing use of muscle power, the recently concluded polls had been totally peaceful, in sharp contrast to what the state had been witnessing under the SAD-BJP rule for 10 years, he added.
Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said that with these Panchayat elections, a new era of development had been ushered into the state. He called upon the newly elected Sarpanches, Panches, Zila Parishad and Block Samiti Members to discharge their responsibilities with utmost dedication and commitment. Bajwa announced that the Chief Minister would soon release funds to the tune of Rs 700 crore to intensify the pace of development in the villages.
Addressing the gathering, Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot said that the continuous and massive victories of the Congress Party in Punjab in the recent polls, including by-polls, Local Bodies and Panchayat and Zila Parishad polls, were the result of the pro-people policies of Captain Amarinder Singh led State Government.
Health Minister Brahm Mohindra described the occasion as the dawn of a new phase of development in the villages of Punjab, and urged the newly elected representatives to sincerely and honestly focus on development-oriented programmes.