IEP Chandigarh

A fire incident occurred in the computer room of C-block of Nehru Hospital, PGIMER, Chandigarh around 11:45 PM on 09-10-2023 midnight. The primary reason of fire is guessed to be a short circuit in the computer room. The C-block has dialysis unit, Adult kidney Unit, Renal Transplant unit, Female Medical Ward, Male Medical Ward, Gynae, Maternity, Nursery& Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Bone Marrow Transplant and operation theatres which functions 24×7 throughout the year. As soon as the incident occurred, security officers, fire officers and staff members including faculty, residents, staff nurses and subordinate staff of PGI got into action and all the patients from these area were rescued and shifted to the safer areas.

Prof Vivek Lal Director, PGI along with senior faculty members Medical Superintendent and Administrative Officers reached the spot immediately and Fire wing, Engineering wing of PGIMER swung into action to provide all the needed care and support required for patient care.
The UT administration, UT fire department also reached the spot and contributed in quick & safe evacuation of the patients and their attendants. The smoke and heat spread to the corridors due to which the patients from adjoining areas Advanced Urology Centre, Male Surgical Ward were also shifted to the safer places so as to avoid any sort of suffocation to the patients.

Patients evacuated during fire incident in C block of Nehru Hospital:

1. Total patients evacuated = 424
2. Adults = 351
3. Intensive Care Unit = 34
4. Pregnant females = 80
5. Babies = 56
6. Paediatric = 17

These patients were shifted to 2 different areas of Nehru Hospital and Nehru Hospital Extension Block.

The patients admitted in adjoining wards and corridors were also shifted to other concerned wards or ICUs to avoid any untoward incident, as smoke spread out in the nearby wards. The evacuation was done with in 60 min of the incident and there was no loss to life of patients or staff. Around 2:00 AM all the services related to patient care were grossly restored.

The Director PGI immediately instructed the engineering wing for restoration of the affected area. The tarnished area will require major repair work and functioning of the OTs and other facilities are expected to made functional as soon as possible. At present, alternative arrangements have been made in other area of PGI, Advanced Trauma Centre and Nehru Hospital Extension & OTs.

A 14-member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Dean (Academic) Prof Naresh Panda to ascertain the exact cause of fire and working out an action plan so as to avoid any such incidences in future.

IEP Chandigarh

Haryana Home and Health Minister Anil Vij said that the Bhoomi Pujan of the Civil Enclave to be constructed in Ambala Cantonment will be performed by Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal on October 15, 2023 (1st Navratri). He said that  under the RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme) UDAN scheme, 20 acres of land has now been registered in the GLR (General Land Register) records in the name of “Civil Enclave”. The Minister further said that the land registration in the GLR, designated for the civil enclave’s construction, was facilitated by the Defence Estate Officer of the Defence Ministry. Previously, this land was registered as “Military Dairy Farm.” Vij said that the land has been made available through the Airport Authority of India for the civil enclave project under the UDAN scheme. Vij emphasized that the construction process for the Civil Enclave on the 20-acre plot adjacent to Ambala Air Force Station would commence shortly.

A technical bid for the construction, estimated at a cost of Rs 16 crore, has been opened, with three firms having submitted their applications. He expressed his determination to initiate flights from Ambala in the near future. In addition, the administrative team installed boards and flags representing the RCS UDAN scheme on the land designated for the Civil Enclave on Air Force Station Road. Vij said that the establishment of the Civil Enclave under the RCS Udaan Scheme is progressing. Recently, a sum of Rs 133 crore was transferred to the Defense Estate Officer in exchange for the 20-acre land. Vij explained that when the Civil Enclave is constructed alongside Ambala Air Force Station, passengers will perform check-in and check-out procedures here for security checks. Subsequently, they will be transported to the aircraft located inside the Air Force station near the airstrip via bus. The airstrip of Ambala Air Force Station will be utilized for flights. He mentioned that the Civil Enclave would initially operate on an ad-hoc basis, with plans for future expansion. Vij said that  discussions have been initiated for four-laning of the Air Force Station Road, extending from Capital Chowk in Ambala to GT Road. Correspondence regarding this matter is ongoing with  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The four-lane road project is expected to enhance travel convenience for commuters. Notably, the proposed airport in Ambala is intended to be named “Amba Airport Ambala Cantonment.” Home Minister Anil Vij has forwarded this proposal to the Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar for consideration.

IEP Chandigarh

Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal, while stressing the need for government resources to prioritize the well-being of underprivileged communities, said that the more schemes the government implements for the economically disadvantaged, the greater the well-being of society will become. The government is committed to the welfare and development of poor and deprived communities.                    

The Chief Minister made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a Jan Samvad program held at Karnal late last evening.

This event marked the 19th Jan Samvad program within the Karnal assembly constituency, with seven more scheduled to take place in the coming month. During the event, he attentively listened to the concerns of individuals from various segments of society and directed the relevant officials to address these issues promptly.

Highlighting initiatives aimed at transforming the system, Sh Manohar Lal mentioned the introduction of a Parivar Pahchan Patra (PPP) for every household—an unprecedented step by the government. The data recorded in the PPP is exceptionally accurate, encompassing information about births and deaths. This data forms the basis for determining the precise population of any city. Furthermore, the government has initiated the practice of sending birthday wishes to every citizen. In a heart-warming gesture, the Chief Minister called Praveen Beniwal, born on September 25, and another person on the stage and congratulated them spreading smiles on their faces.

The Chief Minister affirmed that the state’s 2.8 crore people are like his own family and their well-being is his foremost concern. The government has implemented various measures to ensure the education and healthcare of underprivileged children and to augment the income of economically disadvantaged individuals. He mentioned the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, which provides health insurance coverage up to Rs 5 lakh to citizens. The Central government had initially set an annual income threshold of Rs 1.20 lakh for eligibility. However, the Haryana government has expanded this limit to Rs 1.80 lakh, benefiting approximately 29 lakh families under the Ayushman/Chirayu Yojana. To further extend the reach of the Chirayu Yojana, the government has raised the annual income limit to Rs 3 lakh for eligible individuals within this income bracket, with beneficiaries required to pay an annual premium of Rs 1500. This scheme enables beneficiaries to access medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh at government or approved private hospitals.

Referring to the provision of an old age pension of Rs 2750 for individuals with an annual income up to Rs 3 lakh, Sh Manohar Lal highlighted that, based on income records in the PPP, pensions have now been automatically extended to approximately 80,000 residents of the state, eliminating the need for them to visit government offices. He said that Haryana is leading the way as the first state to grant widowers a monthly pension of Rs 2750 after reaching the age of 40. In addition, the government has also decided to provide pensions to unmarried individuals aged 45 to 60.

During his interaction with the people, the Chief Minister inquired about those who had not yet received their old age pensions or PPP and promptly instructed concerned officials to ensure that their pensions and PPP records are processed by Tuesday. Furthermore, he instructed the power corporation officials to resolve the electricity bill issue of Rs 1.90 lakh for a widow residence.

Responding to a request from OP Garg of the Senior Citizens Forum to install an umbrella over the statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the Chief Minister assured a comprehensive assessment of the proposal. BK Nirmala requested land in Sector 9 for a community center, on this, the Chief Minister directed the EO of HSVP to investigate available space in the sector for social and religious institutions and communicate with the local Councillor. Subsequent steps, including advertising and further actions, will be carried out in accordance with established regulations. If no suitable space is found in Sector 9, efforts will extend to exploring options in surrounding sectors.

Gharaunda MLA Mr. Harivandra Kalyan, Municipal Corporation Mayor Mrs. Renu Bala Gupta, Deputy Commissioner Mr. Anish Yadav, SP Mr. Shashank Kumar Sawan, and officials from various government departments were also present on this occasion.

IEP Chandigarh

The Haryana Government is offering a 15 percent discount to urban property owners who make complete payments of their property tax for the year 2023-24 by September 30.

Providing information in this regard, a spokesperson of the Urban Local Bodies Department said that if there are any errors in the Haryana Urban Property Tax assessment, property owners can online rectify them at https://ulbharyana.gov.in/ portal. After addressing the errors, they should proceed to verify the property data.

The spokesperson said that all property owners have the opportunity to avail 15 percent discount by verifying their property data on their own before September 30.

IEP Chandigarh

HAFED and HSIIDC have launched the sale of plots in the Mega Food Park at Rohtak. HAFED has set up the Mega Food Park, Rohtak, which spreads across 50 acres and has 80 plots ranging from 450 to 4050 square meters. Dr. J. Ganesan, Managing Director, HAFED, issued allotment letters to the first allottees today at the HAFED Corporate Office in Panchkula.

        Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ganesan said that the Mega Food Park is ideally located at IMT Rohtak on NH-10, linking Delhi and Rohtak. He informed investors that they can set up a wide range of units in the Mega Food Park, including cattle feed, fruit and vegetable processing, dairy and milk processing, grain and cereal processing, meat and poultry processing, spice processing, beverage production, edible oil extraction and refining, bakery, snack food manufacturing, ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-cook (RTC) foods, canning and preserving, and food ingredient manufacturing.

        The most significant advantage for investors in the Mega Food Park is that they do not need to invest in creating common facilities for their units. Instead, they may utilize the common infrastructure facilities already set up by HAFED as a part of this project, such as a 5000 MT multi-purpose cold storage, a 1.5 MT/hr individual quick freezing (IQF) unit, a 1500 MT deep freezer, two 2500 MT silos, a 7500 square meter warehouse, and a food and quality testing laboratory. All these facilities will be available to investors on a nominal rental basis.

In addition, 24 standard design units of 236.20 square meters each have also been constructed in the Mega Food Park exclusively for MSMEs as plug-and-play facilities.

Dr. Ganesan expressed his gratitude to all the stakeholders like MOFPI Government of India, Haryana Government NABARD, HSIIDC, and Investors for their support. He further informed that with the onset of the festive season, HAFED, in association with the HSIIDC, endeavors to offer all the remaining industrial plots for sale through e-auctions by HSIIDC regularly till all these plots are sold out on a free-hold basis.