Ludhiana, March 19
Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced that a mass movement would be launched by the Punjab government against the drug menace from April 1.

Addressing a gathering here, the former Delhi Chief Minister said on April 1 that more than three crore people of Punjab would stand against the scourge of drugs by nabbing a handful of smugglers who are ruining the generations of state for minting money.

Kejriwal said the Punjab government would launch a mass movement against drugs and he urged every resident to be a soldier in this war against drugs.

He added that every AAP worker would go to villages to eliminate the drug menace, adding this would be a decisive war against drugs.

Kejriwal also launched an anti-drug helpline number -- 9779100200 and exhorted the people to give any information related to selling of drugs in their area with the help of this number.

He said the identity of the caller would not be disclosed to anyone but exemplary action against drug smugglers will be taken.

Kejriwal said that drug census would be conducted to ascertain the extent of drugs prevalent in the state.

The former Delhi Chief Minister said as part of this census, teams will visit every household to check the extent of drugs present in the cities and villages.

He added that the identity of drug victims would be kept secret but corrective measures would be taken subsequently.

He said in order to wean away the youth from the menace of drugs, playgrounds and gyms would be opened in every village and this would help in channelising unbounded energy of youth in a positive direction and make them an active partner in socio-economic progress of the state.

The former Delhi Chief Minister said that 5,000 new Home Guards are being recruited and they would be deployed in border districts of the state.

Punjab govt to launch mass movement against drugs from April 1, says Kejriwal