Patiala, August 1:- Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has said that the fight against drugs is not only the government or the police, but the joint responsibility of the entire society. He said that drugs are a serious problem not only of Punjab, but of the entire country because anti-national forces are conspiring to weaken the country by trapping our youth in the trap of drugs. The Governor was addressing a national conference on the theme ‘War against drugs – Towards a drug-free Punjab’ at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law today. On this occasion, Haryana Governor Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh was also present, along with whom the Vice Chancellors of various universities of Punjab expressed their solidarity to solve the problem of drugs. Mr. Kataria expressed confidence that with the joint efforts of the government, administration, educational institutions, social and religious organizations and the common people, this evil of drugs can be eradicated. Calling for a mass movement to save the youth from drugs, he said that saving our next generation is the only way to secure the future of the country. The Governor, while mentioning the success figures of the ‘War on Drugs’ campaign being run by the Punjab government, said that this war is not limited to action against drug traffickers only, but is a comprehensive social campaign to make the youth aware, connect them with treatment, rehabilitation, education, sports and skill development. He said that universities, schools and other educational institutions should play an important role in research, awareness and social participation to prevent drugs. He also appealed to all the Vice Chancellors and other educationists to take care of their campuses and interact with the students who have become addicted to drugs and help them in getting rid of addiction. He said that now is the time to wake up and the youth trapped in the swamp of drugs need love instead of scolding because we are also responsible for creating the conditions for drugs and now it is also our responsibility to eradicate this disease. Meanwhile, Haryana Governor Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh also expressed his views on the problem of drugs. He was accompanied by the First Lady of Haryana, Mrs. Mitra Ghosh. Welcoming the guests, Vice Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Prof. Jai Shankar Singh said that in order to make the Punjab Government’s ‘War on Drugs’ campaign a success, the university is providing special legal training to the police officers on taking strong legal action against drug traffickers and punishing the culprits. In his keynote address, Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University, Patiala Prof. (Dr.) Pushpinder Singh Gill shared his views on effective solutions to the social problem of drugs. On this occasion, Vice Chancellor of Punjabi University Dr. Jagdeep Singh and Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar Dr. Karamjit Singh also spoke and emphasized the role of educational institutions in creating a drug-free society. Administrative Secretary of the conference Dr. Giving information about the objective of the conference, Dr. Jasleen Keolani said that this conference has been organized in collaboration with Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University, Jagat Guru Nanak Dev Punjab State Open University and Punjabi University Patiala.
Dr. Jasleen Keolani said that the objective of the conference was to discuss the growing challenge of drug abuse and explore a comprehensive strategy involving educational institutions, legal awareness, sports, rehabilitation and community participation.
At the end of the conference, the Registrar of Law University, Prof. Evenit Walia, proposed the vote of thanks. On this occasion, Vice Chancellors of various universities, Prof. Satbir Singh Gosal, Prof. Ajay Ranga, Dean Academic Dr. Naresh Kumar Vats, Dean Research Dr. Kamaljit Kaur, SSP Varun Sharma, SP Vaibhav Chaudhary, ADC Navreet Kaur Sekhon, Dr. Ankit Srivastava, Dr. Brindpreet Kaur, Dr. Gagan Preet, Dr. Gurmanpreet, Professor Dr. Kamaljit, Dr. Rachna Sharma, Dr. Wazida Rehman, Harkiran Singh, Dr. Komal Jain, Dr. Neelam K. Sharma and Col. Parminder Singh Sidhu from Sports University, managing committee and faculty members, researchers and students in large numbers were present. In this event, along with books by Prof. (Dr.) Jai Shankar Singh and Dr. Jaswinder Kaur, a book written by Dr. Birendra Singh and edited by Dr. Jasleen Keolani was also released.