Chandigarh, September 21, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab’s ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’ campaign has adopted a five-point strategy to tackle the drug menace through enforcement, prevention, community participation, youth engagement and rehabilitation.
The initiative aims to move the anti-drug campaign beyond police action by involving schools, colleges, villages, communities and healthcare facilities. While law-enforcement agencies focus on dismantling drug supply networks, teachers are being trained to identify early signs of vulnerability, community members are being mobilised to report drug-related activity, youth are being encouraged to promote healthier choices and healthcare workers are providing pathways to treatment and recovery.
Police Action: Breaking the Supply Chain
The police remain the enforcement backbone of the campaign. Between March 2025 and September 2026, Punjab’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) registered 61,824 FIRs and arrested 81,433 people, according to the government.
During the same period, recoveries included 3,918 kg of heroin, 991 kg of opium, 47 tonnes of poppy husk, 1,416 kg of ganja and 65 lakh tablets and capsules.
Punjab Police also conducted 79,293 public meetings during this period as part of efforts to take the anti-drug campaign directly to communities and strengthen public participation.
Teachers: Preventing Addiction at an Early Stage
The second pillar focuses on prevention, particularly among school students.
A 14-week anti-drug curriculum is being taught to 7.5 lakh students across 3,600 schools by trained teachers. The government is also conducting phased sensitisation of high-school and senior secondary teachers to help them identify early signs of mental-health distress and vulnerability to substance abuse and understand appropriate intervention methods.
In the first phase, nearly 25,000 teachers from 13 districts are to be trained, with 7,000 teachers already sensitised in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Fazilka.
The initiative seeks to give teachers a greater role in identifying warning signs and connecting vulnerable students with appropriate support.
Youth and Peer Networks: Promoting Healthier Choices
The third pillar focuses on peer influence and the social environment surrounding drug use.
School and college programmes are incorporating peer engagement, youth-led activities and the participation of recovered persons to encourage young people to stay away from drugs and reduce the stigma associated with recovery.
Year-long activity calendars have been prepared for schools, while cultural festivals, mental-health clubs and sporting activities are being used to encourage healthier lifestyles among college students.
The strategy combines awareness with sports, culture, peer engagement and community participation to create alternatives for young people.
Community Vigilance: Strengthening the Grassroots Network
The fourth pillar involves communities in identifying and reporting drug-related activity.
By September 2026, around 1.25 lakh members had joined nearly 15,000 Village and Ward Defence Committees across Punjab, according to the government.
More than 50,000 committee members have been trained to use the Nasha Mukti App. Community representatives are also providing information about suspected drug peddling as well as individuals and families seeking assistance with addiction.
Since the launch of the Safe Punjab WhatsApp Helpline (97791-00200) on March 1, 2025, more than 51,000 citizen tip-offs have helped police make over 25,000 drug-related arrests, according to the government.
The objective is to strengthen local vigilance while ensuring that people seeking help for addiction can be connected with government support.
Health and Rehabilitation: Expanding the Route to Recovery
The fifth pillar focuses on treatment and rehabilitation, with the government expanding healthcare infrastructure for people battling substance abuse.
Punjab currently has 547 OOAT centres, 219 de-addiction centres and 91 rehabilitation centres.
Under the campaign, government health facilities have been revamped, healthcare workers trained, and skilling and creative activities introduced at treatment centres to keep patients engaged during recovery.
The government said admissions to its de-addiction and rehabilitation centres increased from more than 12,200 in 2024 to nearly 34,000 in 2025, representing an increase of more than 170 per cent.
The increase has been presented as an indication of more people coming forward to seek institutional treatment for substance abuse.
Five-Pillar Strategy for a Drug-Free Punjab
The ‘Big 5’ approach brings enforcement, prevention, youth engagement, community vigilance and treatment together as interconnected elements of the ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’ campaign.
The strategy seeks to curb drug supply, strengthen reporting mechanisms, protect young people from substance abuse, increase community participation and provide treatment and rehabilitation facilities to those seeking recovery.
Under the Bhagwant Singh Mann government, the campaign is therefore being implemented across police stations, villages, schools, colleges and healthcare facilities as part of a coordinated effort against drug abuse.
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