Drug fight: Tarn Taran village shows the way

TARN TARAN: A village in border district of Tarn Taran has led by example for tackling the drug menace. Due to efforts of villagers, 70 addicts have vowed to abstain from drugs.

On July 1, people of Dhunda village, 20km from here, adopted an aggressive stand against drugs to save the youth. They began with catching hold of two drug peddlers, who were later

handed over to police. Deputy commissioner (DC) Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal appreciated the villagers for their efforts when he visited Dhunda on July 3.

“Drug addicts of our village had started sniffing and injecting drugs openly, without any fear. There were syringes, injections and empty wrappers of drug pills in the cremation ground, streets and other public places of the village. On June 30, we found two men of the village searching for used syringes from a garbage dump. This prompted us to take a fight against the menace. We took a pledge to eradicate drugs from our village to save young lives,” said Baldev Singh, a village resident.

He said with the help of Harjinder Singh, Navpreet Singh, Nirvair Singh and others, they formed a “Nagar Sudhar Committee” to eradicate drugs. The committee has 100 members.

“On July 1, we visited homes of those who were involved in smuggling of drugs and gave them a final warning. The next day, we caught hold of two drug peddlers and started making announcements from the village gurdwara that anyone coming in the village to supply drugs would not be spared. With this, people from all walks of life started joining the campaign. We started encouraging drug addicts to shun the habit and our efforts bore fruit,” said Baldev.

Nirvair Singh, a social activist, said: “We keep an eye on outsiders to cut supply of drugs. Police and civil administration are also helping us .”

Tarn Taran SSP Darshan Singh Mann said he appreciates the efforts of villagers.

AFTER BEING MOTIVATED, 70 ADDICTS VOW TO SHUN DRUGS; GET TREATMENT AT GOVTRUN CENTRES