States » NorthPosted at: Sep 17 2026 5:37PM


Haryana: CM Saini flags off Nasha-Mukht Namo Marathon, launches Anaemia Mukht Bharat campaign for youth

Panchkula, Sep 17 (UNI)Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday led a two-pronged youth outreach in Ambala, flagging off the Nasha-Mukt Haryana Namo Marathon against drug abuse and launching a 100-day campaign to detect and treat anaemia among students, particularly adolescent girls.
Addressing participants at the marathon in Ambala City, Saini said the fight against drug abuse must go beyond awareness and focus on creating healthier opportunities for young people through sports, skills, employment and entrepreneurship.
“A drug may give you a ‘high’ for some time, but it can make your entire life ‘low’,” Saini said. “A few moments of intoxication can outweigh the dreams of an entire lifetime.”
From a mass anti-drug marathon to eye and haemoglobin screening in a government school, Saini sought to frame the campaign around a wider message: keeping young people away from addiction must go hand in hand with better health, sport, skills and opportunities.
Saini joined the participants in the marathon and administered an anti-drug pledge. Students, sportspersons, young women, parents and volunteers took part in the event.
Appealing to youngsters facing peer pressure or the temptation to experiment with drugs, he said, “Say no to drugs, say no to bad company and say yes to your dreams. You are your parents' hope and your family's pride.”
The Chief Minister said parents make years of sacrifices for their children's future and that “pressure, showmanship or wrong friendship” should not be allowed to destroy those hopes.
“Our goal is not merely to stop drugs. We have to create a life for young people where there is sport instead of drugs, opportunity instead of despair, good values instead of bad company and a goal instead of aimlessness,” he said.
Saini said young people should have sporting equipment and tools of skill in their hands rather than drugs, and linked the government's approach to initiatives such as Khelo India, Fit India, Skill India, Startup India, Mudra and Stand-Up India.
He said sports, fitness, skills, entrepreneurship and self-employment could channel the energy of young people into productive avenues.
The marathon was organised as part of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan and coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 76th birthday. Saini also planted a sapling before flagging off the run.
The Seva Sankalp Abhiyan aims to spread the message of public service and dedication and highlight the initiatives undertaken during Modi's 25 years as a constitutional head, while strengthening the resolve towards “Viksit Bharat 2047”.
Later, Saini shifted his focus to anaemia and eye health among young people at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Police Lines, Ambala City, where he launched an eye and anaemia screening camp and the district's 100-day Anaemia Mukt Bharat campaign.
The campaign will cover screening, treatment and follow-up at schools, anganwadi centres, health institutions and communities over the next 100 days.
Saini said students found to be anaemic would receive treatment on medical advice, with particular attention to adolescent girls. He also distributed nutrition kits and interacted with doctors conducting eye examinations.
Civil Surgeon Dr Renu Berry said health teams would screen targeted beneficiaries and ensure treatment and follow-up during the campaign.
Former minister Asim Goel said children and adolescent girls would undergo haemoglobin tests and be educated about nutrition and prevention of anaemia. Students found to have eyesight problems would be provided spectacles on medical advice.
Saini said the state's youth policy will address both the factors that could derail a young person's future and those that could help build it by keeping youngsters away from drugs while improving their health and connecting them with sports, skills and opportunities.
“Your life is precious, your future is precious, and your dreams are precious,” he told the young participants.
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