Law alone can’t stem drug problem: Kataria

Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Saturday expressed concern over the drug problem in the state’s border areas, saying the law alone could not stem it.

He said the situation had come to such an impasse that parents were being pressured by their children to sell their assets so that they could procure drugs. “To think that the government alone can stop it, it doesn’t work (like that). Laws were made long ago but they didn’t stop crime,” he said.

Kataria stressed that to achieve drug-free vibrant Punjab, the focus should be on colleges and universities. “Ten years later, the whole Punjab will be drug-free, this is my guarantee,” he said.

The Governor made the remarks during a programme organised by the Vidya Bharti Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Sansthan.

Vidya Bharti is the education wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and runs large number of schools across the country.

Praising the organisation, he said, “I believe Vidya Bharti has nothing of its own. Whatever society gave it, the organisation tried to repay. I as a former Vidya Bharti teacher stand before you today. Now, I stand here as a Governor.” During the event at Vidya Dham, he inaugurated a mobile science lab, a newly constructed block and a Shishu Vatika (infant nursery) of the Sarvahitkari Shiksha Samiti being run under Vidya Dham, Jalandhar.

Also lauding the Punjabi spirit, he said, “During the floods, I saw we administrators reached with delay but villagers reached immediately. People worked 12 to 14 hours a day to strengthen embankments to prevent bundhs from breaking. This means Punjab mein bahut dum hai.”

The Governor, along with his wife Anita Kataria, also paid rich tributes to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries at Khatkar Kalan.