Seventy-two years after India freed itself from the command of British rule, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has given a call for another freedom movement — liberating the State from the deadly clutches of drug menace.
launching a #NasheToAzaadi (freedom from drugs) campaign, Capt Amarinder is not only seeking support of the people of Punjab — right from the common man to the students to celebrities— but also of the makers of the virtual world — the Google and the Facebook.
And he made his intentions clear. “I will knock on every door and leave no stone unturned to ensure we eliminate drugs from Punjab. I wrote to @google CEO @sundarpichai and @facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to extend and provide technology support in fighting this menace. We look forward to their help,” tweeted Capt Amarinder.
Keeping pace with today’s social media savvy world and following the ongoing trend of throwing a “challenge”, Capt Amarinder has nominated five personalities from different fields under “#NasheToAzaadi” challenge.
He has nominated former chief of Army staff Ved Parkash Malik, Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Olympian gold medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra, Punjabi singer-actor Gippy Grewal, and his cabinet minister Aruna Chaudhary for the challenge — and in no time, everyone, except Harbhajan, responded to the same.
Known for his stint during Kargil war, Malik posted a video message on Twitter describing NasheToAzaadi as “the clarion call on the war against drugs in Punjab”, and asking everyone to “get together and fight against this menace”, while nominating another five for the challenge.
Responding, Capt Amarinder thanked General Ved Malik saying, “you have led India to victory in Kargil. With your support in this war against drugs, I am sure together we can make Punjab drug free”.
Renowned singer-actor Gippy Grewal said that drugs is a “trying problem of our times, and we have to beat drugs in Punjab”. He urged the youth not to do drugs, and also not to allow others to do drugs.
Youth icon Bindra described ‘drug-free Punjab’ as his “new target”, while urging everyone to “Join the war, be a soldier, play your part”.
Capt Amarinder urged Grewal to promote and encourage a drug free Punjab through his songs and films, while appreciating Bindra for his “new target” saying that freedom from drugs is “a target for all of us, and I am sure with your support, we can make a huge impact”.
The Chief Minister also thanked budding cricketer from the State Manan Vohra for his support to the campaign. “We need people like you to take the pledge to achieve #NasheToAzaadi. Through your game and through your fans, lets spread the message of a drug free Punjab,” he tweeted.
“This way, the message will spread amongst people of different fields and when celebrities and achievers would make an appeal, it will surely have an impact. The Government is making its efforts on the ground, but there is a need to spread the message to everyone, and social media is the best platform,” Chief Minister’s close aide told The Pioneer.
That was not all! In the ‘war against drugs’, Capt Amarinder has also taken along the school students and their teachers and principals, after connecting a common man through his drugs Drug Abuse Prevention Officer (DAPO) programme, by launching “Tu Mera Buddy” project.
“Tu Mera Buddy aims at roping in the students to proactively fight drug abuse at school and college level. Under this, a group of five students in every class will be supervised by their teacher, comprehensively dealing with relevant issues like peer pressure, personality development, etc,” said the programme trainer Naresh Arora.
Further seeking technical support from Facebook and Google to combat the drug menace prevalent among the youth of the State, Capt Aamrinder has written separate letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai saying that Internet is ripe with content about finding newer ways of drug addiction. He sought their help in limiting the spread of those materials.
In his letter to Zuckerberg, Capt Amarinder said: “We realize that technology now forms a larger part of the youth’s lives and they are deeply influenced by what they see, hear and consume.”
“I firmly believe that platforms such as yours can play a big role in combating this menace. I am writing to you to seek your help and support in making Punjab drug-free through the use of the unique products and services you have built. I look forward to getting some ideas on what you can do and how can we work together,” he said.
To Pichai, Capt Amarinder said: “I write to you at a critical juncture of my State’s journey to combat the menace of drugs. I am seeking your partnership in developing technology based strategies to make Punjab drug-free in next five years.”
“Technology forms the backbone of information and education today. Punjab’s youth have easy access to platforms such as yours and I am seeking your assistance in helping us develop ways in which we can make Punjab drug-free. I look forward to hearing from you,” he said.
Capt Amarinder has also pointed out that Punjab Government had formed a three-pronged strategy based on enforcement, de-addiction and prevention to combat drug menace.