Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab State Media In-charge Baltej Pannu said that the campaign being run on social media by former cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh ‘Bhajji’ and other celebrities to defame Punjab was a dirty conspiracy to stab Punjab, Punjab Police and the government in the back.

Addressing the media during a press conference on Tuesday, AAP Punjab Media In-charge Baltej Pannu said, “The same party which had honoured Bhajji and given him a Rajya Sabha seat was the party that he stabbed in the back and then went and sat in the lap of the BJP. Today, these sell-out leaders and celebrities are dancing to the BJP’s tune and blindly making the bundles of lies served by them viral, hatching a dirty conspiracy to stab Punjab, Punjab Police and the government in the back.”

Presenting the facts about the video being circulated on social media, Baltej Pannu said, “The video being circulated on social media by celebrities such as Harbhajan Bhajji and Sonu Sood, claiming it to be from Punjab, is not from Punjab but from Rajasthan. Without knowing any facts, such a bogus video is being posted to defame Punjab merely to garner ‘likes’ and ‘views’.”

Questioning the silence of these leaders and celebrities on drug seizures elsewhere, Baltej Pannu said, “Why did these leaders and celebrities remain silent when news emerged about thousands of kilograms of drugs seized from Mundra Port in Gujarat, regarding which reports had stated that the drugs were eaten by rats? Drugs are a global problem today, against which actions such as the FBI’s ‘Operation Hardball’ are also being carried out, but in Punjab, the state is being targeted by falling prey to the BJP’s tactics.”

Highlighting the action being taken against drugs in Punjab, he said, “Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the war against drugs is being fought on the ground through ‘Village Defence Committees’ under the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign. Anti-drone systems have been installed along the borders and ordinary people are sending information directly to the DGP (Director General of Police) and the Chief Minister through the Direct App.”

Sharing the performance figures of the Punjab Police, Baltej Pannu said, “From March 1, 2025, to August 9, 2026, the Punjab Police registered 56,267 cases and named 75,552 accused. In addition, 3,575 kg of heroin, 509 kg of smack, 880 kg of opium, 43,271 kg of poppy husk (doda), and more than 95 kg of charas were seized, while drug money amounting to ₹21 crore 71 lakh 267 was confiscated.”

Speaking about the origins of the drug menace in Punjab, the AAP Punjab Media In-charge pointed out, “The drug menace in Punjab had begun during the previous governments between 2007 and 2017, which destroyed an entire generation. Today, due to the efforts of the Mann government, youth have been turned towards sports. The captain of the Indian men’s cricket team, the captain of the women’s cricket team, and nine players of the Indian hockey team are young people from Punjab.”

Addressing Harbhajan Singh, Baltej Pannu asked, “What contribution have you yourself made, as a sportsperson, towards connecting the children of Punjab with sports?”

Lauding the people of Punjab, the Punjab Police and the warriors of the Village Defence Committees, Baltej Pannu said, “The government and the people of Punjab are standing firmly united in this campaign. We strongly condemn such false conspiracies being hatched by Bhajji and others to defame Punjab.”

A fire can last minutes. The damage can last much longer. For someone who suffers serious burns, getting out of the flames is only the beginning. There can be repeated dressings, procedures, reconstruction and months of recovery. Punjab’s latest burns data under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY) puts a number on that difficult journey. 265 treatments worth ₹1.39 crore were provided.

Twenty-four-year-old Arjun Kumar was injured when a short circuit triggered a fire at his home. He was taken to Bathinda for treatment worth nearly ₹50,000, provided cashlessly under the scheme. “Everything happened so fast,” he recalled. Once he knew the treatment would be cashless, he said, he could concentrate on healing rather than hospital expenses.

As per data received from the State Health Agency (SHA), Punjab, under Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana, men aged 31 to 45 years accounted for 61 treatments, the highest among the groups, with expenditure of ₹31.82 lakh. Boys aged 0 to 18 years recorded 39 treatments, while girls in the same age group accounted for 27.

Among women, the highest numbers were recorded in the 19-30 age group, with 26 treatments, followed by 21 treatments among women aged 31-45. In simple terms, much of the treatment was on children, young adults and working-age people.

The Punjab figures also echo what medical research has found about the longer shadow of burn injuries. As per PubMed, a study of 892 burn patients at a tertiary hospital in Punjab found that 79 per cent of patients were between 15 and 45 years old, showing how heavily burns can affect people in their working years. The study also highlighted the need for accessible and affordable burn care in India.

On this, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh said, “A burn injury does not end when the flames are put out. For many patients, recovery can mean repeated procedures, rehabilitation and long-term care. Our priority is to ensure that financial hardship does not become another injury for these families. Under Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana, patients should be able to focus on healing, recovery and rebuilding their lives, rather than worrying about how they will pay for treatment.”

One of the most revealing figures is post-burn contracture, which accounted for 75 treatments and ₹38.90 lakh in expenditure.

Post-burn contracture can occur when scar tissue tightens after a burn injury, restricting movement and making even ordinary actions difficult. In this way, the impact of a burn can extend long after the skin itself has healed.

Other procedures included treatment for total body surface area burns, tissue expanders, electrical and chemical burns, antibiotic dressings, skin flaps, debridement and ear/nose reconstruction. These are not cosmetic concerns. For some patients, they are about regaining movement, function and confidence.

Among the districts listed, Bathinda reported the highest number of beneficiaries, with 57 people receiving 63 treatments. The treatment expenditure there stood at ₹33.51 lakh. Faridkot followed with 40 beneficiaries, while Patiala recorded 39. At the other end were Rupnagar, S.A.S. Nagar and Fatehgarh Sahib, with one beneficiary each.

Dr Balbir Singh added that the treatment data highlights the importance of providing timely and comprehensive care to burn patients, particularly children, young adults and working-age people who form a significant share of the beneficiaries. “A burn can change a person’s life in seconds, but recovery often takes much longer. For a burn victim, cashless treatment can therefore mean something very practical; when the fire is finally out, the family does not have to face another fire, that is, the hospital bill,” he said.

In a significant step to strengthen its fight against drug abuse and to promote mental wellbeing of the students, the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab Government began an extensive teachers’ awareness and capacity-building programme across 12 districts under its flagship anti-drug campaign, ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’, this past week.

The objective of the initiative is to equip more than 21,850 teachers with the capacity and practical skills needed to identify early signs of mental health concerns and drug abuse among students and to intervene in time. The drive was kicked off in Fazilka and Tarn Taran on Monday, where over 800 teachers participated in the workshops last week.

The programme follows from the success of sensitisation programmes of the government in schools. Earlier in January this year, a training programme was carried out for Principals and Headmasters of Senior Secondary and High Schools across nine districts. The training focused on border districts of the state which are especially vulnerable to the menace of substance use.

Further, a pilot teacher training programme was conducted in Amritsar, in which more than 2,800 teachers participated. Over 75% of participants reported feeling inspired to contribute toward creating a healthier school environment. Based on the successes of these initiatives, the Bhagwant Mann government has now launched a phased expansion of the training module starting with Fazilka, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Faridkot, Mohali, Ropar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana and Patiala.

Teachers are often the first to notice when a student is in distress, yet such behaviour is frequently mistaken for indiscipline rather than recognised as a health concern. With rising anxiety, stress and substance use among adolescents, school-based prevention offers a scalable and sustainable route to early identification and timely support. The teacher sensitisation builds on the sensitisation of Heads of Schools to institutionalise a whole-school approach to student wellbeing.

On this, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh said, “Every child who slips into the darkness of drugs is a child we could have reached earlier. Our teachers spend more time with our children than most; they notice the silences, the absences, the changes no one else sees. The training module is so designed that the teachers have a better idea of adolescent issues, their mental health and emotional wellbeing. The teachers would also be made aware of the risks associated with drug abuse. The training will enable them to provide support as and when necessary. They will learn to recognise the early signs of distress and drug vulnerability, to respond with compassion instead of punishment, and to connect struggling students to help before it is too late. No child in Punjab should suffer in silence or be met with stigma, and under the Yudh Nashean Virudh campaign, we are determined that they will be met with care and support.”

This is a massive cross-departmental undertaking, with the Directorate of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) ensuring implementation in conjunction with the Department of Social Security and Women and Child Development. The state’s Data Intelligence and Technical Support Unit (DITSU), which is leading a comprehensive response against substance use, will provide the implementation support, develop training material and ensure quality assurance throughout the campaign. Nodal Officers have been identified at the district level to ensure all senior secondary and high school teachers are able to participate in and benefit from the sessions. The sessions are being executed with the support of Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (NMBA) and National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR).

The one-day awareness-cum-capacity-building sessions will be conducted in over 500 batches across the 12 districts in a phased manner starting from August 2026, and will be delivered by expert resource persons through a psychosocial lens to the issue of substance use. To ensure that the learnings translate into classroom practice, every teacher will take a pledge to be a sentry between their students and drugs and conduct activities with students in the weeks following the training. The programme’s reach and effectiveness will be tracked through participant feedback and a structured monitoring framework.