Ubharda Bathinda: No meeting held for over a year

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 5

No meeting has taken place under the ‘Ubharda Bathinda’ project for the last one and a half years even as the publicity material prepared by the Bathinda police as part of the project is lying redundant.

The campaign was the dream project of the state police in Bathinda district, which was kicked off amid much fanfare in May 2016, when the issue of drugs was being raked up by all political parties before the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections. Local police officials had decided to initiate the ‘Ubharda Bathinda’ campaign to sensitise people against drugs. As a part of the project, the police had started holding meetings in villages, wards and societies. As many as 600 meetings were conducted to spread the awareness against ill-effects of drugs.

The district police had also come out with a blueprint to eradicate drug menace, besides involving 2,547 members of different Saanjh Committees and representatives of various educational institutions, NGOs and youth clubs.

The police had constituted committees at various levels. According to police sources, the committees had been formed in 411 villages, 175 urban wards, 238 schools, and 47 colleges/universities. These committees, along with the members of different NGOs and other institutions, were to ensure the dissemination of message, rehabilitation of identified affected people and bringing them back to mainstream through counselling sessions.

Even after the change of guard in the state in March 2017, top police officials had decided that the Bathinda police will continue this Ubharda Bathinda campaign, but no meetings are being conducted. Consequently, NGOs and committees involved in the project are now upset with the state of affairs.

On the other hand, SSP Naveen Singla said the matter was in his notice and they would soon conduct the meetings to resume the campaign.