Ludhiana, 6 January – In what can be termed as the first-ever large scale anti-drugs drive in Punjab, initiatives are being undertaken to make ‘Punjabiyon Jaago, Nashe Tyaago’ a success, which will begin in Mullanpur on Monday.
More than 6,000 truck drivers, taxi drivers, truck trolley union members, youths, teachers and students are expected to attend the first meeting of the drive at the Mullanpur grain market.
Talking to Newsline, MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, who conceived the idea a few months back, claimed that after the posters were put up in villages with phone numbers to give information regarding drug peddlers, villagers have come forward in large numbers and have helped the police arrest more than 40 such offenders.
“We pasted the posters with telephone numbers for villagers to give us information about people selling drugs in their areas and we are pleasantly surprised with the results. More than 40 peddlers have been arrested till now with inputs from villagers. The basic idea is to empower the villagers as one SHO cannot arrest peddlers from more than 30 villages. Once people rise against drugs, nothing can stop the movement,” Ayali said.
As the part of the drive, tractors and trolleys are being painted with anti-drugs slogan ‘Punjabiyo Jaago, Nashe Tyaago’. “Till now we have painted around 20 trolleys and soon all in the area will be painted,” he said, adding that it is the first ever mass anti drug drive by the Punjab government.
“The bright yellow slogans will solve two purposes as it will also act as reflectors and reduce accidents at night,” said Ayali. Soon there will be boards to discourage people from giving bribes, with phone numbers to give information about such officials. These boards will be placed outside all government offices in Mullanpur, Ayali informed.