CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, July 2:

          In a major intelligence-based operation amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Counter Intelligence (CI) Amritsar has busted a cross-border narcotics and illegal arms smuggling module with Pakistan links with the arrest of its three operatives and recovered eight sophisticated weapons, 1 kg heroin and Rs 2.9 lakh drug money from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.

          Those arrested have been identified as Sarabjit Singh, a resident of village Saanke in Ferozepur, Kulwinder Singh, a resident of village Langiana in Ferozepur and Ashmandeep Singh, a resident of Railway Road in Tarn Taran. The recovered weapons include three 9MM Glock pistols, three .30 bore Chinese pistols and two .30 bore PX-5 pistols. Police teams have also recovered a currency counting machine from their possession, besides, impounding their Splendor motorcycle (PB05-AT-1664) being used for transporting the consignments.

          DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were acting under the directions of Pakistan-based smuggler identified as Sikandar Noor, a resident of Manihala in Pakistan, who has been using drones to drop weapon consignments from across the border. The arrested accused were further distributing the arms to gangsters across Punjab with intention to fuel criminal activities in the state, he said.

          Sharing operation details, he said that CI Amritsar received specific intelligence about retrieval of weapons and narcotics consignments from near Indo-Pak border areas falling under the jurisdiction of districts Ferozepur and Tarn Taran. Acting swiftly, police teams have intercepted and apprehended three persons from near Railway Road Tarn Taran, when they were going to deliver the consignment on their motorcycle, and recovered illegal weapons & narcotics from their possession, he added.

          The DGP said that further investigations are underway to establish backward and forward linkages in this case and unearth the entire network.

          A case FIR No. 35 dated 01-07-2025 u/s 21,25,27-A,29 NDPS Act, 25 Arms Act has been registered at Police Station State Special Operation Cell, Amritsar.

Chandigarh, July 2:

In yet another testament to the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government’s commitment to providing quality education, Punjab has emerged as the top performer in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2024, announced S. Harjot Singh Bains, Minister of School Education, Punjab.

The NAS is India’s most credible and reputed  survey to evaluate educational achievements of students. It selects students from Class-3rd, 6th and 9th as samples to evaluate overall education outcomes.

Expressing delight over Punjab’s impressive rankings in the NAS (PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan), S. Harjot Singh Bains shared that Punjab stood first with 80 marks in 3rd-grade ranking, hugely surpassing Himachal Pradesh (74) and Kerala (73).

For the 6th grade, Punjab and Kerala are joint top performers with 67 marks each. In the 9th-grade ranking, Punjab outperformed other states & UTs with 57 marks to grab top spot, he added.

Notably, the nationwide survey, conducted by the NCERT in collaboration with States and UTs to assess learning outcomes and identified areas for improvement, with thousands of students participated from across the country.

“Punjab’s stellar performance in the NAS underscores the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government’s dedication to ensuring quality education and improving student learning outcomes”, said S. Bains while adding that the Punjab Government will build on this success, continuing to enhance the standards of education system to provide students with the best education.

Highlighting the remarkable accomplishments of the school education department, the Education Minister S. Bains informed that an impressive 845 government school students qualified the highly competitive National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), while 265 students successfully cleared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains this year, which showcasing the department’s commitment to fostering academic excellence and empowering students to excel in the country’s most challenging competitive exams. Punjab govt has made education its topmost priority.

Chandigarh, July 2 – Taking cognizance of the problems arising regarding Backward Class (Non-Creamy Layer) Certificate in the state, Public Health Engineering and Public Works Minister Sh. Ranbir Gangwa has written a letter to the Chief Secretary of Haryana to issue clear instructions to the officers in this regard.

Delegations of various BC communities of the state had met the Cabinet Minister and told him that their children are facing technical problems through the Saral portal in getting Backward Class Certificate (NCL).

On this, the Cabinet Minister clarified that as per the notification of Haryana Government dated 16th July 2024, salary and agricultural income have been excluded from the income limit for determining the category of Backward Class (NCL). Individuals whose gross income is up to Rs 8 lakh fall in this category.

But, instead of complying with the notification, many Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars are adding salary or agricultural income to the total income, due to which the real eligible people are facing difficulty in getting the certificate.

He directed to issue clear instructions to all Deputy Commissioners and Tehsildars through the Chief Secretary to ensure that the notification is followed as per the instructions.

He said, “Eligible people should not face any difficulty in getting the certificate. Officers should follow the rules properly and issue certificates to eligible applicants quickly. Negligence in this matter will not be tolerated and action will be taken against those who ignore the rules.”

Chandigarh, July 2- In a first, two-day National Conference on the theme ‘The Strong Role of Urban Local Bodies in Constitutional Democracy and Nation Building’ is scheduled to be held on July 3 and 4 at the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) in Manesar, Gurugram district. The arrangements for the successful hosting of the event have been completed. Haryana, with its rich cultural heritage, is fully prepared to extend a grand welcome to delegates from across the country.

Divulging more details in this regard, Deputy Commissioner, Sh. Ajay Kumar said that the conference will be inaugurated on Thursday, July 3, by Lok Sabha Speaker Sh. Om Birla. Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Sh. Harvinder Kalyan has been consistently reviewing the preparations.

The Secretary General, Lok Sabha, Sh. Utpal Kumar Singh will also be present during the inaugural session. The session will also be graced by the presence of Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Sh. Manohar Lal, and Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister Sh. Vipul Goel.

The Deputy Commissioner further informed that Mayors, Commissioners, and other representatives from Municipal Corporations nationwide will participate in the conference. The objective of the event is to make urban governance more effective, inclusive, and innovation-driven, thereby contributing to the vision of “Viksit Bharat 2047.”

On the first day of the conference, best practices adopted by leading Indian cities- Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Indore, Lucknow, Pune, Surat, and Visakhapatnam will be presented. Following this, five workshops will be held on different sub-themes, including, the role of Urban Local Bodies as the foundation of democracy, Developing ideal practices and codes of conduct for council meetings, Local bodies as engines of inclusive development, Strengthening municipal governance, Innovation hubs to improve citizen quality of life and public service delivery, Empowering women, preparing them for leadership roles in society and politics as builders of 21st century India.

Sh. Ajay Kumar further stated that on Friday, July 4, the programme will include group presentations on sub-themes, an informal dialogue with the Lok Sabha Speaker, and a concluding session. The closing session will be attended by Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha Sh. Harivansh, Haryana Governor, Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya, and Deputy Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha Dr. Krishan Lal Middha.

He said that this conference will not only define the future direction of urban governance in India but also strengthen the country’s democratic and developmental journey.

Chandigarh, July 2– A delegation of the Khatik community from Haryana, led by the Social Justice and Empowerment, Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Welfare, and Antyodaya (Sewa) Minister, Sh.  Krishan Kumar Bedi, paid a courtesy visit to Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini in Chandigarh here today. On this occasion, the delegation extended a formal invitation to the Chief Minister for the state-level birth anniversary celebration of Sant Shiromani Durbal Nath Maharaj Ji, scheduled to be held on September 6, 2025, in Hisar.

Expressing gratitude to the Chief Minister, the delegation shared that under the principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas,” the Haryana Government has allotted 781.82 square meters of land at PLA Sector, Hisar to the Sant Durbal Nath Shiksha Samiti Khatik Samaj for conducting social, religious, and educational activities, at official government rates.

The delegation requested the Chief Minister to attend this historic event on September 6 as the Chief Guest and also lay the foundation stone for the construction work on the allotted land.

The Chief Minister lauded the efforts made by the Khatik community for the upliftment and unity of society. He said that to promote social harmony and brotherhood, the Haryana Government has launched the “Sant-Mahapurush Samman Vichar evam Prasar Yojana” to disseminate the teachings and messages of saints and great personalities to the masses. Under this scheme, the birth anniversaries and special days of saints and revered figures from all communities are celebrated at the state level. He assured that the Haryana Government remains committed to fostering social harmony and uplifting all sections of society.

The delegation included Sh. Raghubir Singh Badgujar, President, Sant Durbal Nath Shiksha Samiti, Hisar, Sh. Pooran Chand Panwar, Sh. Ramesh Ratvaya, Sh. Thakar Dutt Panwar, Sh. Nekram Baswala, Sh. Saliram Chandel, Sh. Sher Singh Khanna, Dr. Satpal Chawla, Prof. Surender Badgujar, Advocate Sumit Meni, Sh. Pravesh Kumar, and other office bearers.

Chandigarh, July 2 – Haryana’s Development and Panchayat Minister Sh. Krishan Lal Panwar, who is also the President of Haryana Amateur Kabaddi Association, congratulated and wished the players for winning medals in both the categories of the First U-18 National Kabaddi Championship held in Uttarakhand from 28th June to 1st July. In this competition, Haryana’s daughters won gold medals and sons won silver medals.

He said Haryana’s girls’ team won the gold medal by defeating Rajasthan 39-35 in the final match, while the boys’ team had a tough match with Chandigarh in the final, remaining tied throughout the time and then tied at five raids each and tied at the golden raid. They had to settle for the silver medal with a margin of 44-43 on the second golden raid.

He said as a result of the sports policy of the Haryana Government, today the players of Haryana are making the country and the state proud in the Olympics, Asia, Commonwealth and national and international-level sports competitions of every level. Kabaddi has been the traditional game of Haryana. Even before this, the players of Haryana have left a mark in the game of Kabaddi at the national and international level and now after the players of Haryana getting the first and second place in the youth category.

Sh. Panwar said this historic victory has proved the hard work and dedication of the players. He also congratulated and wished Kabaddi Association Chairman Kuldeep Dalal, Secretary Naseeb Janghu, coaches of boys and girls team and all the officials.

He said today, the players of Haryana are making their mark in the country and abroad. To promote sportspersons, the Haryana Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini is also giving the highest prize money to the medal winners in Olympics and Paralympics, which is giving more encouragement to the players.