Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Monday said that the Bhagwant Mann-led government has recovered more heroin in four years than the previous Akali-BJP and Congress governments recovered during their combined 15 years in power. Sharing official figures, the minister said the state's anti-drug campaign has led to a major increase in heroin seizures through stronger enforcement and the use of anti-drone technology.
According to the statistics shared by the minister, 2,817 kilograms of heroin were recovered during the 10-year Akali-BJP government, while 2,412 kilograms were recovered during the five-year Congress government, in comparison, the minister said that the Mann government has recovered 6,608 kilograms of heroin in four years.
Dr Balbir Singh said these results were made possible because of the government's determination to act against drug trafficking and the deployment of anti-drone systems to stop the smuggling of narcotics across the border. The minister's remarks came as the Punjab Government continues to expand its anti-drug campaign, 'Yudh Nashean Virudh', across the state.
The initiative focuses on increasing village-level participation through regular monitoring, district and state-level review meetings, and village-specific anti-drug strategies, while, a key part of the campaign is the Nasha Mukti Morcha, which was formed on April 15, 2025, along with a state-wide anti-drug awareness campaign across five strategic zones.
The Morcha's Block Coordinators work with the administration, police, health department and local communities and their role includes spreading awareness, encouraging treatment and rehabilitation, supporting families affected by drug addiction and promoting community participation.
According to the government, Punjab currently has 1,708 Block Coordinators working with more than 1.25 lakh members of Village and Ward Defence Committees and together, they help spread awareness, encourage people to seek treatment and strengthen vigilance against drug abuse and drug trafficking.
District-level review meetings are also being held across Punjab to assess the progress of the campaign, identify local challenges and improve coordination among different departments.
Apart from enforcement, the government says the campaign also focuses on rehabilitation and helping former drug users rebuild their lives and according to the government, several people who completed treatment at de-addiction centres have found employment in hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, D-Mart, Blinkit and other workplaces. Some have also started self-employment.
The government says these employment opportunities are helping recovering individuals return to normal life and reduce the chances of relapse.
The Punjab Government says its anti-drug campaign now combines strict action against drug traffickers with awareness programmes, rehabilitation, employment support and community participation as part of its effort to make the state drug-free.
While presenting the latest recovery figures, Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh maintained that the heroin seizure data shows the impact of the government's enforcement efforts over the past four years and said the higher recoveries were achieved through determined action and the use of anti-drone systems to curb cross-border drug smuggling.
