Faridkot (Gurpreet Singh): Accelerating the state’s multi-pronged anti-drug crusade, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday dedicated five-hundred modern village open-air gymnasiums to the public as part of the flagship ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’ campaign. Launching the statewide initiative from Chand Baja village in Faridkot district, the Chief Minister asserted that the primary objective is to foster a vibrant, healthy sporting culture in rural heartlands, providing top-tier fitness infrastructure to steer the youth away from narcotics and rebuild a vibrant, prosperous state.
Addressing a massive gathering of sports enthusiasts and local residents, Chief Minister Mann described the simultaneous launch of the fitness facilities as a watershed moment for rural infrastructure development. He revealed that the state government has allocated an unprecedented budget of 1,791 crore INR specifically for the sports and youth services sector. Under this ambitious welfare model, the administration has set a final target to establish 3,000 state-of-the-art village gyms across all twenty-two districts at an estimated investment of nearly two-hundred crore rupees. Mann emphasized that these installations will act as critical community wellness anchors, working in tandem with a broader project to develop 3,100 rural sports grounds, of which two-hundred and fifty have already been completed and handed over to local panchayats.
In a major policy announcement that generated significant applause, the Chief Minister locked down the official rollout timeline for the highly anticipated Maavan Dheeyan Satkar Yojna. Mann announced that eligible female beneficiaries over the age of eighteen will begin receiving official text notifications on their registered mobile phones starting July 1, 2026, confirming that the monthly financial assistance is being credited directly into their bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Under the socio-economic welfare scheme, general category women will receive 1,000 INR per month, while beneficiaries belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category will receive an enhanced payout of 1,500 INR monthly. Crucially, the Chief Minister clarified that the scheme features an inclusive design, ensuring that women who are already drawing old-age, widow, or destitute social security pensions will receive these cash transfers as an additional top-up. The state has earmarked a massive budgetary allocation of 9,300 crore rupees for the scheme, which is projected to provide financial autonomy to nearly ninety-seven percent of the female population in Punjab.
Expanding on rural ecological rejuvenation projects, the Chief Minister outlined a comprehensive environmental blueprint focused on restoring historic village ponds. The specialized project involves dredging, treating, and recycling wastewater from local ponds to safely deploy it for agricultural irrigation, thereby significantly reducing the agrarian sector’s heavy reliance on depleting groundwater reserves and promoting circular water management. The high-profile development event was attended by Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, along with several senior cabinet colleagues, district administrative officials, and prominent regional sports personalities.
