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Shimla, Nov 15 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said the government will form a team of 1,000 anti-Chitta volunteers to act as a link between the police and the public. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday launched a public agitation against low-grade heroin ‘Chitta’, marking the beginning of a decisive campaign across the state.
Leading an ‘anti-chitta’ awareness walkathon in the state capital that included students, public representatives, officials and residents, the chief minister administered the pledge on the ridge, urging people to stay away from drugs and addictive substances.
Later, addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that the state will collectively face the challenge of ‘Chitta’.
Public participation will ensure that drug smugglers do not get any safe haven.
“This initiative will be historic in eliminating drug lords and smugglers,” he said.
“Chitta Mukt Himachal is not just a government initiative but a people’s movement,” he said.
He said, “This is a fight against drugs with the collaborative efforts of everyone. Himachal’s movement against drugs should echo not only in the hills of the state but in the entire country.”
CM Sukhu appealed to women, especially mothers, to run the movement effectively and said that women can play an important role in awakening the society and can make it successful by becoming the backbone of this campaign.
He appealed to religious institutions to raise their voice against drug abuse.
He said, “If all religious institutions stand together against Chitta, then no one will be able to stop us from eradicating this evil.”
Giving a stern warning, the Chief Minister said that those who are involved in chitta trade, ruining the future of children and destroying families, will not get any place in Devbhoomi.
“Our police is ready, our government is ready and more importantly, our people are ready to root out Chitta,” he said.
He said the goal is to create a state where ‘Chitta’ will become a thing of the past and there will be no mention of it in its history.
“Chitta is silently damaging our culture, our values and the future of our children. A strong mass movement has now started to end this menace,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that the government is working on three main points to fight drug addiction.
First, to spread awareness against drug abuse, second, to prevent the youth from falling into drug trap and addiction by taking strict action against drug mafias and strengthening law-enforcement agencies and giving them powers to deal strictly with the mafia and third, to ensure rehabilitation of children trapped in drug addiction.
He said youth with drug addiction are not criminals; They need treatment, care and support.
The Chief Minister said that the government has adopted a policy of zero tolerance against drugs.
“No one involved in this trade will be spared, no matter how influential he is. Soon after coming to power, the government invoked the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act to jail criminals repeatedly involved in drug trafficking,” he said.
–IANS
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