As part of its ongoing fight against drugs, Punjab government on Friday launched an initiative to engage government employees and other residents of the state for help in wiping out menace of drugs from the state.

Launching the initiative, DAPO (Drug Abuse Prevention Officer, on the Martyrs Day at Khatkar Kalan (Nawanshahr), the ancestral village of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, ), the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said it was the collective responsibility of all to rescue youth from the clutches of drugs, which was destroying future generations.

The CM appealed to one and all to become a part of the anti-drugs campaign of the government. It was important for everyone to support the government in this fight against drugs in the interest of the state’s development and progress, he added.

Paying rich tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on Martyrs Day during the state level function at Khatar Kalan, as part of a state-wide oath-taking ceremony, the CM took the DAPO oath, and also administered it to other volunteers, thanking them for joining his government’s efforts to rid the state of the problem of drugs.

The state cabinet ministers simultaneously administered the DAPO oath to volunteers in various district headquarters.

Leading the campaign, Amarinder became the state’s first DAPO, with Special Task Force chief Harpreet Singh Sidhu handing over the DAPO Identity Card to him. The CM then carried the chain forward by presenting a similar card to a local government minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu and two citizen volunteers.

The CM later told the gathering that the DAPO programme, marking the Youth Empowerment Day, will involve engaging with dedicated volunteers to work in their localities in coordination with the local administration, police and STF.

He disclosed that more than 4.25 lakh DAPO volunteers had already registered on the DAPO website as part of the campaign and more applications were likely to flow in.

The CM recalled his visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands post-Tsunami, where thousands of Punjabi freedom fighters had jailed for raising the banner of revolt against the British tyranny, and exhorted the people to take inspiration from their sacrifices.

Referring to a demand for naming the Mohali International Airport after legendary martyr Shaheed-E-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh, Amarinder said the Punjab government had already taken up this issue with Union government and he would personally pursue the same.