Amid a renewed political storm over Punjab’s drug problem, the Bhagwant Mann government is doubling down on a strategy that goes beyond arrests and seizures: Putting the state’s youth on the sporting field.
The government has announced the fourth edition of “Khedan Wattan Punjab Diyan”, positioning sports as a key weapon in its fight against drugs and an avenue to channel the energy of Punjab’s young population.
The government has announced the fourth edition of “Khedan Wattan Punjab Diyan”, positioning sports as a key weapon in its fight against drugs
That makes the fourth edition more politically consequential than a routine sporting carnival. Whether the playgrounds can produce that change will be the real test of the policy. With the drug issue emerging as one of the biggest vulnerabilities for the government ahead of the 2027 elections, Mann is now trying to shift the narrative from how many peddlers have been arrested to how many young people can be kept away from drugs.
