CM Punjab launches DAPO , becomes its First Volunteer
Dedicating the historic occasion of martyrdom day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev to youth empowerment, the CM Punjab Capt Amarinder Singh also launched a unique initiative – DAPO (Drug Abuse Prevention Officer) – to engage with government employees and the citizens of Punjab in the ongoing fight against drugs.
During a state level function at Khatkar Kalan at sharp 12 noon, as part of a state-wide oath-taking ceremony, Captain Amarinder Singh took the DAPO oath, and also administered it to other volunteers, thanking them for joining his government’s efforts to rid the state of the problem of drugs. The state cabinet ministers simultaneously administered the DAPO oath to volunteers in various district headquarters.
Captain Amarinder Singh became the state’s first DAPO, with STF chief Harpreet Singh Sidhu handing over the DAPO Identity Card to him at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. The Chief Minister then carried the chain forward by presenting a similar card to Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and two citizen volunteers.
Later CM told the gathering that the DAPO programme, marking the Youth Empowerment Day, will involve engaging with dedicated volunteers to work in their localities in coordination with the local administration, police and STF. He disclosed that more than 4.25 lakh DAPO volunteers had already registered on the DAPO website as part of the campaign and more applications were likely to flow in.
The Chief Minister appealed to one and all to become a part of the anti-drugs campaign of the government, pointing out that it was the collective responsibility of all to rescue youth from the clutches of drugs, which was destroying future generations. It was important for everyone to support the government in this fight against drugs in the interest of the state’s development and progress, he added.
