Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria kick-started a six-day 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Padyatra' from April 3 to 8 as part of AAP government's 'Yudh Nasheyan Virudh' campaign against the drug pandemic. The padyatra started from Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, and will finish at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, covering a distance of about 42-48 kilometers in two districts. Kataria is traveling 7-8 kilometers a day, meeting people in villages and cities to generate awareness about drug addiction. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, MLAs, MPs, social groups, and intellectuals have been invited by the Governor to be part of the campaign, urging the war against drugs to be made a people's movement.
He underscored that law alone could not do the job of eliminating the problem of drugs and appealed to every section of society, including clerics and educators, to unite to defeat the evil. Kataria referred to gloomy figures about drug addiction in Punjab, such as increasing heroin consumption among youth and women, and appealed for unity to save the future of Punjab.
Throughout his padyatra, Kataria has interacted with the BSF and villagers and talked about issues like Pakistan using drones to bring drugs into the country. He further added that anti-drone systems have been bolstered with the induction of 22 anti-drones to aid drug seizure operations.
Public gatherings and awareness campaigns are being conducted en route to involve citizens and youth.
Kataria hopes this campaign will become a mass movement, calling all political parties and organizations to come together in making Punjab a 'Rangla Punjab' once again.
