Punjab to draft more recruits in crusade against drugs

Over 200 personnel will be recruited at three state-level de-addiction centres in Punjab as the government today reiterated its resolve to fight the drug menace in the state.
Medical education and research minister Chunni Lal Bhagat said that as a first step in the fight against drugs, 214 posts at the three state-level rehabilitation centres at Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala have to be filled within three months.
"The process of recruitment has already started after the state Cabinet gave its nod to 214 posts for drug de-addiction centres," an official release said here.
Meanwhile, in a letter to the Prime Minister today, Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary Virsa Singh Valtoha stressed on the need to "save Punjab" from the menace of drugs smuggled in from Pakistan.

"Because of the nefarious designs of Pakistan, Punjab has been worst affected (by the drug problem)," Valtoha is said to have alleged in the letter.
The MLA from Khemkaran constituency, which runs adjacent to the international border with Pakistan, further alleged that "as per a latest survey, of the total quantity of drugs peddled in the country, 70 per cent came through the borders of Punjab, whereas the rest sneaked in through other borders touching Pakistan".