Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led more than 15,000 cyclists in a massive drug awareness rally from Sangrur on Sunday.
After flagging off the rally from the grounds of GGS School, the chief minister said Sangrur was the land of revolutionaries and that the people had once again gathered there for a noble cause—to wean away youths from the drug menace.
Quoting the proverb that “an idle brain is a devil’s workshop”, Mann said that with more employment opportunities there would be no room for banned drugs in society. “Our social bonding is so strong that any seed could germinate on the land of Punjab, but the seed of hatred will not germinate here at any cost. And if our health and mind will be fit, we will together put the state on a high-growth trajectory,” he said.
The chief minister said that in the coming days, more such initiatives would be rolled out to promote awareness on physical and mental health. He said his government was working on multiple plans to eradicate drugs from society, adding that more rehabilitation centers and clinics would be opened for drug addicts.
Mann further said the thrust would be on providing employment opportunities to the youth. Expressing concern over the depleting water table, he said both the air of the state had been water.
The chief minister said the government would start an awareness drive on crop diversification, adding that the Center had green-lighted the state government’s price support scheme for the moong crop for the rabi season 2021-22.
Before the commencement of the rally, Punjabi folk singer Harjit Harman enthralled the audience. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema; MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj; DC Jitendra Jorwal, IG Mukhwinder Singh Chhina; Mann’s sister Manpreet Kaur and officer on special duty Rajbir Singh; Arjuna awardees Palwinder Singh Cheema and Rajpal Singh; Commonwealth games medalist SP Harwant Kaur; Padam Shree Sunita Rani; and DSP Prithvi Singh Chahal were also among those present on the occasion.
,