Ludhiana, Feb. 20 -- Describing sports as the "most lethal weapon" against the drug menace, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday announced that the state government will increase the sports budget in the forthcoming fiscal.

Speaking on the concluding day of the three-day Kila Raipur Rural Olympics in Ludhiana, he said the AAP government was already promoting sports in a big way to channelise the unbounded energy of youth in a positive direction: "If children and youth sweat it out on the field and bring home medals, there would be no need for any anti-drug campaign."

Mann said bullock cart races, which were halted during the tenure of previous governments, had been resumed after 13 years under the AAP government after amendin...