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WATCH | NCB destroyed 30,000 kg of drugs in virtual presence of Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah (File photo) (HT_PRINT)

Shah was present at a conference in Chandigarh where he watched virtually the incineration of the seized drugs by the NCB.

The home minister said following a call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate 'Azadi Amrit Mahotsav', a pledge had been taken to destroy about 75,000 kg of drugs.

"Glad to share that till today, we have already incinerated 82,000 kg of drugs and will reach the 1 lakh kg mark by August 15," he said.

The anti-drug agency started the drug disposal campaign on June 1 and over 51,217 kg of narcotics have been disposed of by it in 11 states till July 29.

On Saturday, the NCB destroyed 19,320 kg of drugs in Delhi, 1,309 kg in Chennai, 6,761 kg in Guwahati, and 3,077 kg in Kolkata.

The Union Home Minister said that the central government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward narcotics and it was showing results.

He said this is necessary to achieve the objective of a healthy society and prosperous nation.

Shah said it was also important from the security point of view as "the dirty money" which is generated from the drug trade is used in activities against the country.

"When Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the central government had adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs," Shah said.

The home minister said that there were seizures of 3.3 lakh kg drugs and a 260%increase in arrests in the 2014-21 period compared to 2006-13.

Shah said the government is holding talks with all stakeholders to make laws more stringent and has taken a proactive approach to connect with the states in the anti-narcotics efforts.

Eliminating the scourge is necessary to achieve the objective of a healthy society and prosperous nation. Also, it was important from the security point of view as "the dirty money generated from the drug trade is used in activities against the country", the minister said.

On drug menace in Punjab, Shah said "Everyone says the drug problem is more in Punjab, which is a border state. Therefore, we will have to make more efforts.

"If the state government allots land, the Centre will set up a forensic lab in Amritsar and a small centre of NCB for training purposes," he said.

"...We have to make joint efforts to fight this problem... The Government of India stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Punjab government to fight the drug menace. We have to pull out the youth of Punjab from the drug menace," said Shah.

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