Overview
- Gulab Chand Kataria led the People’s Walk Against Drugs from DAV College of Education through Hoshiarpur’s markets before participants pledged support on campus.
- He alleged that Pakistan is being helped by unspecified foreign forces to send drugs and weapons into Punjab using drones, framing the threat as an effort to destabilise the state.
- Kataria said security forces are intercepting consignments as anti-drone systems are reinforced, and he urged village-level vigilance after meeting local defence committees.
- The march is part of the Punjab Lit Foundation initiative launched in 2023 under author Khushwant Singh, with this year’s focus on empowering mothers; a guide titled Raising drug-free children was released.
- Officials have cited March–December 2025 actions to underscore the scale of enforcement, including about 31,000 FIRs, 42,000 arrests, more than 1,900 kg of narcotics seized, and roughly ₹300 crore in assets attached.