Punjab, Haryana CMs call for joint efforts to curb drug menace
The Hindu
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar were addressing the gathering at a national conference on drug trafficking and national security at the Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday stressed on working as "team India" in fighting drug menace even as his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar also sought to put up a joint fight to break the network.
They were addressing the gathering at a national conference on drug trafficking and national security at the Raj Bhawan here.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was the key speaker at the event. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Haryana Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Narcotics Control Bureau chief S. N. Pradhan were also present.
Speaking about his government's action against drugs smuggling, Mr. Mann said 4,903 FIRs have been lodged and 6,809 smugglers nabbed in the recent drives.
He stressed on a unified action by states to curb the narco-gangster-terrorist nexus. "We will have to work as a 'team India' against drugs, terrorism and gangsters, and we have to fight unitedly," he said.
Mann urged the states not to indulge in a "credit war", but focus on eliminating gangsters, drug smugglers and terrorists. He said the states should come up with a foolproof strategy to get the desired results.
The Punjab Chief Minister also highlighted the issue of supply of drugs through drones in border areas and said efforts were being made to combat this problem.