To mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Punjab on Sunday turned into a big arena for an overwhelming number of people from all walks of life pledging to fight the spiralling menace of drugs at anti-drug pledge programme organised at nearly 500 places.
The ‘Say No To Drugs’ pledge initiative, under the aegis of Joshi foundation and supported by prominent BJP leaders including former MP and national BJP vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, Union Minister and Punjab BJP chief Vijay Sampla, Khadi Board chairman Harjit Singh Grewal and Assistant Media Adviser to Punjab government Vineet Joshi, found unprecedented support, especially from youth who came out in large numbers to take the pledge against drugs.
The campaign leaders reached out to the people at distant places in many villages and sub-divisions to ensure that the message against drugs is comprehensively delivered, said Joshi Foundation chairman Vineet Joshi.
From Amritsar to Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala, Tanda, Dasuya, Talwara, Hoshiarpur, Garhshankar, Nawanshahr, Nangal, Sri Anandpur Sahib, Noorpur Bedi, Ropar, Kurali, Morinda, Mohali, Khanna, Jalandhar, Amritsar, ludhiana, Abohar, Bathinda, Sangrur, Bhikhi, Sunam, Budhlaha, Jaito, Kotkapura, Malout, Gidderbaha, etc, the exercise by Joshi Foundation was being seen as one of the largest effort against drugs in Punjab, said Joshi.
He added that in Dasuya alone, at least one dozen such events were held.
“The 18 months old anti-drug movement in Punjab is increasingly gaining ground in Punjab,” said Joshi adding that such initiatives help to inculcate a resolve among people not only to give up drugs but also to support the society campaign against this deadly menace.