Chandigarh, June 6 -- Seeking to deepen the reach of its "Yudh Nashian Virudh" campaign at the village level, the Punjab government has deployed specially designated e-rickshaws in 3,440 villages, building on the Village Defence Committees formed earlier this year to take the anti-drug initiative to the grassroots.

Under the pilot project, covering roughly one-third of all villages across 23 districts of the state, one assembly segment per district has been identified, with a single e-rickshaw assigned to cover 40 villages each, according to a government release.

The e-rickshaws, equipped with a public address system and informational flex boards, go village to village spreading awareness about the harmful effects of drug abuse and aven...