500 youths take part in run against drug abuse in Nurpur

Local social organisations — Youth Against Drugs and Gary Care Foundation — organised a marathon at Nurpur to make people aware about the dangers of the drug menace. As many as 500 youths below 20 years of age from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh participated in the event. Over 50 girls also took part in the marathon that was widely publicised through the media to attract youths.

Kangra Lok Sabha MP Rajiv Bhardwaj flagged off the 7-km marathon for men from the Kali Mata Temple, Bodh, on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway to the Hanuman Temple at Kopra. For the girls participants, the race was of 3 km.

In the men’s category, Sandeep Pal of Uttar Pradesh won the first prize, Yudhveer and Sandeep of Haryana got the second and third prizes. In the women’s category, Pooja and Muskaan of Hoshiarpur (Punjab) won the first and second prizes while Siya Devi of Pathankot (Punjab) stood third. No participant from Himachal Pradesh could win the top three positions. Local MLA Ranbir Nikka was the special guest at the event.

Bhardwaj, who was chief guest, said that youths should keep away from drugs and should rather embrace sports. He lauded the members of Youth Against Drugs and Gary Care Foundation for organising the event. He said that both organisations actively participated not only in sports but also in social welfare activities in the area.

DSP, Nurpur, Chandrapal Singh said that the young generation should not get trapped in the quagmire of drugs. He appealed to the youth and the general public to cooperate with the police to eradicate drug addiction.