IEP Chandigarh, March 26

Laying emphasis to create more job opportunities in Haryana, the Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal directed the officers of Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department to ask the skill set demand of various industries and accordingly impart skill enhancement training to youth to meet the desired requirement of industries.        While presiding over a meeting to review the progress of age group wise assignment given to various Departments, the Chief Minister further directed the officers of Women and Child Development Department to expedite the process of identifying the children out of school, attending Anganwadi Centres, Madrasas, Gurukuls and other private institutions in the state. Besides this, the Chief Minister also directed them to upload and regularly update the data of the children with the help of Anganwadi workers. To maintain the data record, he further said that the smart phones should be provided to Anganwadi workers engaged in gathering and verifying the data of children.        To reduce malnutrition among 0-6 years old children in the state, the Chief Minister further directed the officers to assess the Body Mass Index of the children and update it twice a week on the portal developed by Citizen Resource Information Department (CRID) of the state and Bharat Poshan Portal of the Central Government.  Besides this, he further directed the officers to upload and regularly update the data of single member in family, college students, employed youth, senior citizens, construction workers and persons with disabilities on the dashboard of CRID and link the date with Parivar Pehchan Patra.        The Chief Minister directed the officers to identify the single children or orphans in the state and enroll them in child care homes established by the government. He directed the officers of school education department to expedite the process of verification of Date of Birth and Aadhaar of the Citizens between the age group of 6-18 years as all teachers of the Department of School Education have been assigned the task to verify and update the data of citizens in vicinity of their School.The Chief Minister said that for the welfare of every section of the society, the state government is maintaining data of every individual residing within the state. The objective of the state government is to understand the needs of the people and raise the living standard of citizens through Parivar Pehchan Patra. Besides this, efforts are being made to provide benefits of welfare schemes to every eligible beneficiary in a transparent manner across the state, he added.Among those present in the meeting include, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. D.S. Dhesi, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. V Umashankar, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Dr. Amit Agrawal, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Sh. Vijayendra Kumar and other senior officers. 

IEP Chandigarh, March 24

          With an aim to sensitize people and government officials towards environment preservation, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) celebrated World Water Day today.

          On the occasion of the ‘World Water Day 2023’ two tankers of treated wastewater of STP were used for plantation in the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (Gmada) office at Airport Road.

          The officials of GMADA assured the PPCB that the treated wastewater in place of fresh water will be utilised for plantation to the maximum extent and record in this regard will also be maintained.

          Environment Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that Punjab Government under the leadership of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is committed to preserve the environment and conserve the fresh water. He said that various new initiatives have been taken by the department to ensure that people and industrial houses would not defile the purity of water and soil in the state.

IEP Chandigarh,  March 24        

  Adhering to the vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make Punjab number one state in terms of Health, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on the occasion of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, gave a message to make Punjab a TB-free state by the end of 2025.          Sharing his views on this occasion Dr Balbir Singh said that throughout Punjab a number of awareness activities are being organised from time to time. He said although TB is a contagious disease, it is completely curable if detected early and treated on time. It is a common  misconception amongst people that TB causes death, but in reality it is not the case, he said, adding that timely diagnosis and treatment prevents the further spread of the disease.          Underlining the need of collective action to end TB, Dr Balbir Singh said this year’s theme of the TB day ‘Yes! We can End TB! ‘, which signifies our collective effort to end TB. A mass movement is needed, in which cooperation of the general public as well as the government is necessary.          Elaborating on the efforts being made for the eradication of TB, he said that eight districts of Punjab have been awarded by the Central Government with bronze certification for reducing the new caseload by more than 20 per cent. Dr Balbir Singh further said that under the National TB elimination program, all the necessary efforts are being made to eradicate TB from Punjab by the year 2025.          On the occasion of World TB day an awareness program was also organised at the Director Health Punjab’s office, where Secretary Health cum MD National Health Mission Dr Abhinav Trikha was the chief guest and Dr Amarjeet Kaur Senior Regional Director HFW Chandigarh also graced the occasion with her presence. Speaking during the function Dr Trikha called on to end the stigma in the society relating to this disease and he exhorted everyone not to discriminate with a TB patient in any manner.           During the function, Dr Ravinderpal Kaur Director Health Services ( Family Welfare) appealed to everyone to pledge for contributing  efforts at any level for the eradication of TB. She also gave away  prizes to the winners of the quiz and slogan writing competition which was organised on the occasion.          A TB champion Varinder Kumar, who has already been cured of TB and is now working with the department to help eradicate TB, shared his views on how he defeated TB with government’s free treatment within a span of six months and he is completely healthy now.          The Minister appealed to the community, civil society organisations, healthcare providers and state partners to unite under the banner of “TB haarega, Desh Jeetega” and move forward for eliminating TB by 2025.

IEP Chandigarh, March 24     

     On the request of Rajasthan Government, Punjab Water Resources Department has decided to close Rajasthan Feeder Canal for 60 days.          Disclosing this, Spokesperson of the department said that the Rajasthan Government has made an appeal to close the canal due to the remaining work of the relining, thereby the Punjab Government has decided to close the canal from March 26, 2023 to May 24, 2023 (both days inclusive) for 60 days. He further said that the state government has already issued notification in this regard under Rule 63 of Rules framed under the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act, 1873 (Act No.VIII of 1873).

IEP Chandigarh, March 24      

    Under the Matru Vandana Yojana an amount of approximately Rs. 20 crore will be disbursed to the approximately 68500 beneficiaries  till March 31, 2023 to uplift the nutritional and health status of pregnant women and lactating mothers. This was expressed by the Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur, here today.          Cabinet Minister added,  State government is continuously working to improve the nutrition and health status of pregnant women and lactating mothers.          She told, Government gives Rs.5000/- in three installments (Rs. 1000+2000+2000) to women aged 19 years and above on the birth of their first live child. Minister explained that under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana is given to pregnant women and lactating mothers to uplift their nutritional and health status subject to fulfillment of special conditions.          The Minister highlighted,  the Matru Vandana Yojana is a step towards ensuring that every pregnant woman gets adequate care during pregnancy and lactation. She said that this scheme is a mark of the commitment of the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to ensure the well-being of mothers and children of the state.          Dr. Baljit Kaur appealed to all the pregnant women of Punjab to take advantage of this scheme and ensure good care for themselves and their babies. The minister further said  that the financial assistance is credited directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.