3 min readSrinagarMay 4, 2026 03:09 AM IST
Thousands of people, including government employees and students, joined Lt Governor Manoj Sinha in a march against drug abuse as part of the government’s 100-day ‘nasha mukt’ (drug-free) Jammu & Kashmir campaign.
In his speech after the padyatra, Sinha urged people to come together to “build a Jammu and Kashmir where no child is lost to drugs” and “no family is broken by addiction”.
On Sunday, a large number of people from across the Kashmir Valley assembled in Srinagar to take part in a two-kilometre padyatra to show their concern over drug abuse. Holding placards against drug abuse and its effects, participants danced to the beat of drums as they marched on the roads.
Besides Sinha, the rally was attended by political leaders, bureaucrats, top police and security officers, and a large number of government employees and schoolchildren. The government had asked its employees—especially teachers—and students from some schools to attend the rally.
Earlier last month, Sinha reached out to elected legislators and political leaders, seeking their cooperation in the ‘Drug-free Jammu and Kashmir’ campaign. He wrote to leaders across party lines, saying their participation would “serve as a powerful catalyst” to rid Jammu and Kashmir of the scourge. Speaking at a rally at Srinagar’s TRC football ground, Sinha said that thousands marching together against drug abuse had sent a “clear message to defeat drug addiction and narco-terrorism”. “People’s movement carries a promise of a future where Jammu and Kashmir stands free from the grip of drugs,” Sinha said.
“It is also the promise of every teacher who has witnessed talent and potential fade into silence. The determination to uproot drugs is not only a declaration from the administration but a collective resolve of the people, who, after enduring decades of suffering, have risen to say that enough is enough.” Sinha said that in the first 22 days of the 100-day campaign, 481 FIRs had been registered in drug abuse cases, while 518 peddlers had been sent to jail. He added that 24 houses belonging to drug peddlers—“proceeds of crime”—had been demolished and property worth crores seized. The government has also recommended cancellation of more than 300 driving licences.
