Chandigarh, August 24 – Under the Haryana Uday Programme, a Youth Marathon was organized on Sunday in Dabwali, Sirsa. Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini flagged off the marathon. A large number of residents from the area, especially the youth, participated enthusiastically in the marathon. The Chief Minister himself also ran during the marathon to encourage the youth.
The programme began early morning at 5 AM with a half marathon. Later, 10 km and 5 km marathons were held, where the excitement of the youth was clearly visible.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that drugs are a deep-rooted evil which not only weakens the very foundation of society but also destroy our future. Therefore, to root out drugs, the Central and Haryana governments have made the anti-drug campaign a public movement. Just as Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi launched the ambitious Fit India Movement, Haryana has also launched unique initiatives like Raahgiri, Cyclothon, Marathon and Dhakad to strike hard against the drug problem.
He said Haryana Uday is the biggest outreach programme so far. To strengthen the mental and physical health of youth, 2,482 programmes have already been organized across the state, with participation of over 16.5 lakh people. To eliminate drugs from the roots, strict action is being taken against big drug suppliers through district, range and state-level Anti-Narcotics Cells. The Chief Minister added that the state government has also launched several programmes to help youth caught in drug addiction. Currently, 162 de-addiction centres are operating in the state. De-addiction wards have also been set up in government medical colleges, and de-addiction centres are functioning in district hospitals of 13 districts. As a result of these efforts, 3,350 villages and 876 wards of towns have been declared drug-free.
On this occasion, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini also administered the pledge of Drug-Free Haryana to the public. More than 35 Sarpanches from the area also participated in the marathon and honoured the Chief Minister with a turban. During the programme, famous singers MD (popularly known as Desi Rock Star) and Subhash Fauji gave powerful performances to spread awareness among the youth about the evils of drugs. KL Theatre presented a play on the theme “Nasha Ek Abhishaap”. School children too performed captivating cultural programmes.
Half Marathon Results
In the men’s half marathon, Mohit Kumar secured first position, completing the race in 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 39 seconds. Jaswant stood second with 1 hour, 12 minutes, 50 seconds, while Ram Swaroop came third with 1 hour, 18 minutes, 37 seconds.
In the women’s half marathon, Tamshi Singh stood first, finishing in 1 hour, 29 minutes, 43 seconds. Jaspreet came second with 2 hours, 14 minutes, 28 seconds, while Rajvinder secured third place with 2 hours, 18 minutes.
10 km Race Results
In the men’s 10 km race, Mohan stood first with 31 minutes, 17 seconds, followed by Bittu at 31 minutes, 26 seconds. Sandeep came third with 33 minutes, 11 seconds.
In the women’s 10 km race, Neeta Rani came first with 36 minutes, 37 seconds, Anita stood second with 39 minutes, 21 seconds, and Savita third with 40 minutes, 29 seconds.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister honoured the winners with cash prizes.
