IEP CHANDIGARH/SRI MUKTSAR SAHIB, July 26        

    The ongoing fight against drugs launched by the Punjab Police on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has started yielding results as residents of two notorious areas in district Sri Muktsar Sahib including village Midda and Mohalla Chhajghar of Malout took a pledge to stay away from drugs. Both areas were infamous for smuggling and use of various types of narcotics including heroin, intoxicant tablets, etc.The development came amidst the series of Cordon and Search Operations (CASO) focused on drug trafficking, anti-social elements and criminals being conducted by the Punjab Police to make Punjab a drug-free and crime-free state.On Day-3, the CASO was conducted in all three districts of Faridkot Range including Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Moga on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav.The Muktsar Police conducted the CASO early in the morning from 5 am to 12 noon, on the other side, Faridkot and Moga Police carried out raids in the daytime. The entire operation was conducted under the overall supervision of DIG Faridkot Range Ajay Maluja and SSPs were directed to plan this operation amid the massive deployment of the Police Force.Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla said that the Police teams have arrested 79 anti-social elements after registering 66 first information reports (FIRs) during the operation. The Police teams have also recovered Rs 68,500 of drug money, 128 grams of heroin, 115 kg poppy husk, 2560 intoxicant tablets and a huge quantity of illicit liquor and Lahan (Raw material used to make liquor) from their possession, he added.He said that, apart from this, the Police teams have also arrested three Proclaimed offenders (POs) and rounded up 293 suspicious persons for questioning.The Special DGP said that the strong force of 1100+ Police personnel under the supervision of SSP Faridkot Harjit Singh, SSP Sri Muktsar Sahib Harmanbir Singh Gill and SSP Moga J Elanchezian carried out CASO in drug hotspots identified in their respective districts.Meanwhile, Punjab Police will continue such operations in the coming days to completely root out the menace of drugs from the state to transform it into the ‘Rangla Punjab’.

IEP Chandigarh, July 26

The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is continuously working to protect the interests of the Scheduled Castes in the state. Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur stated that the fake Scheduled Caste certificates of Mr. Balwinder Kumar, son of Mr. Chaman Lal, resident of Mamdot, District Ferozepur and Mrs. Jasvir Kaur daughter of Mr. Kehar Singh, Hindi Mistress, Government Middle School Jandpur District SAS Nagar had been rejected by the State Level Scrutiny Committee constituted by the Government level.          Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur said that Mr. Jasbir Singh Pamali Member Core Committee of Sri Guru Ravidass Federation, Village Pamali, District Ludhiana had lodged a complaint with the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission, alleging that Balwinder Kumar a resident of District Ferozepur Mamdot had forged a fake Scheduled Caste certificate. Based on this, he secured a B.Sc (Agriculture) degree and secured  job at Guru Angad Dev University of Veterinary Sciences, Ludhiana.          Additionally, Balvir Singh, son of Mr. Nirmal Singh, Village Alampur, PO Kauli, Tehsil and District Patiala, had lodged a complaint with the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission. The complaint stated that Mrs. Jasvir Kaur, the Hindi Mistress of Government Middle School, Village Jandpur, District SAS Nagar, had obtained a Scheduled Caste certificate despite belonging to the Jat Sikh caste.          The Minister further informed that the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission had forwarded these complaints to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for investigation. She said that after considering the report from the Vigilance Cell by the State Level Scrutiny Committee, it has been confirmed that the Scheduled Caste certificates of Mr. Balwinder Kumar and Mrs. Jasvir Kaur was indeed fake, and they have decided to cancel them.          The Minister stated that the department has written to the Deputy Commissioner of Ferozepur, regarding the Scheduled Caste Certificate No. 471 dated 14.01.1993 of Mr. Balwinder Kumar and the Deputy Commissioner of SAS Nagar, regarding the Scheduled Caste Certificate No. 151 of Mrs. Jasvir Kaur dated 20.07.1990 and called for cancellation and confiscation of their certificates. 

IEP Amritsar, July 26

As a mark of respect to the brave soldiers of the country, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday announced to start ex-gratia grant for the Armed forces personnel in cases of physical casualty during service along with doubling the ex-gratia of physically disabled soldiers and hiking the financial assistance of non pensioner ex-servicemen of World War I and II.

 The Chief Minister led the state in paying homage to Kargil Martyrs, who laid down their lives for safeguarding the borders of the country, in a function to mark Kargil Vijay Diwas  here at Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and museum.

 Addressing the gathering after paying homage to the war heroes, the Chief Minister said that recognizing the immense contribution of soldiers, the state government has now decided to start ex-gratia worth Rs 25 lakh to Physical Casualty cases in the Armed forces. He said that, earlier, there was no such provision but his government has taken this initiative as these valiant warriors also sacrifice their lives during call of duty. Likewise, Bhagwant Mann said that ex-gratia for the physically disabled soldiers have also been enhanced by the state government.

 The Chief Minister said that soldiers with 76% to 100% disability will now get Rs 40 lakh ex-gratia instead of Rs 20 lakh, soldiers with 51%-75% disability will now get Rs 20 lakh instead of existing Rs 10 lakh and those with 25% -50% disability will now get Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia instead of Rs 5 lakh. Likewise, he said that the monthly financial assistance of non pensioner ex-servicemen of World War I and II or their widows has been enhanced from existing Rs 6000 to Rs 10000. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is duty bound to secure the interests of these brave soldiers who had served the country selflessly.

 The Chief Minister further said that this is an emotive function and the entire country feels proud of the supreme sacrifice made by these valiant sons. He said that the soldiers perform their duty despite the vagaries of weather to ensure that the borders of the country are safeguarded. Bhagwant Mann said that the countrymen will ever remain indebted to these national heroes for their bravery and selfless service to the nation.  

 The Chief Minister said that after assuming the charge of office his government has decided to give Rs 1 crore to the distressed families as a mark of respect for the supreme sacrifice made by these heroes for the country. He said that this humble initiative of the state government is in recognition of the immense contribution of these sons of soil towards preserving the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country. Bhagwant Mann said that financial assistance to these families of martyrs is in consonance with the commitment of the state government to ensure the well being of the soldiers and their families.

 The Chief Minister recalled that during the Kargil War he was an artist and to express solidarity with these national heroes they had organized a charity show. He said that the charity show was held at Patiala in which a number of other artists also took part. Bhagwant Mann said that all the collections from the show were handed over to the Army authorities as a token of gratitude towards their heroic deeds.

 The Chief Minister said that as a colony of the British Empire, our country had suffered a lot but the brave and determined heroes of our freedom struggle made enormous sacrifices to remove the shackles of foreign imperialism. He said that it is on record that more than 90% of the great patriots who laid down their lives or were subjected to British tyranny in one form or other were Punjabis. Bhagwant Mann said that a string of gems like Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and several others, shed their blood to achieve freedom for us.

IEP Chandigarh, July 26

 In view of the loss of the residents of the state due to floods caused by unseasonal rains in Punjab, the Headmaster Association Punjab, with the support of the entire cadre, under the leadership of the state president Kulwinder Kataria, presented a check of five lakhs to the Minister of School Education Harjot Singh Bains for the ‘Chief Minister Punjab Relief Fund’.For this initiative, School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains  appreciated the noble efforts of Headmasters Association Punjab.  On this occasion, MLA Bhador Mr. Labh Singh Ugoke, Headmasters Association Punjab General Secretary Jaswinder Singh Bhullar, Gurdas Singh Sekhon, Amarjit Singh, Jagjit Singh, Headmaster Maninder Singh District President Bathinda, Headmaster Harmesh Kataria Bathinda, State Committee Member Headmaster Navdeep Singh Batala were present. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 26 

Taking a giant leap forward to fulfill another promise, the Punjab Government is going to regularize the services of Education Providers, I.E, EGS, STR, AIE and Special Inclusive Teachers, who were working on contract in School Education Department since a decade.Disclosing this here, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that a special event would be held on 28th, July at Chandigarh and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be the Guest of Honour on that occasion. He said that the Chief Minister will hand over Service Regularization Letters to these 12,500 contractual teachers and the event will simultaneously replicated at school level throughout the state.The Cabinet Minister further said that our government had promised to regularize the services of employees including teachers, which is now going to fulfill. He informed that special programs will be organised at each & every school, which would be attended by Principals, Members of School Committees, and representatives of Panchayats & Urban organizations along with education officials besides MLAs to appreciate the services rendered by these teachers.While extending congratulations to these teachers, Mr. Harjot Singh Bains said that the Punjab Government led by Bhagwant Mann is fulfilling every promise made with the people of the state. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 26 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today expressed profound grief and sorrow over the sad demise of the noted Punjabi singer Surinder Shinda, who passed away on Wednesday at a private hospital in Ludhiana, after a prolonged illness. In a condolence message, the Chief Minister described Surinder Shinda as a ‘legendary Punjabi singer, who regaled the millions of Punjabi music lovers with his melodious voice. He said that Surinder Shinda’s death has created a void in the arena of Punjabi music industry, which will be difficult to be filled in the near future. Bhagwant Mann said that the renowned Punjabi singer will be ever remembered through his enchanting songs amongst his fans adding that he was a versatile singer who was instrumental in giving a new dimension to Punjabi music industry.  Sharing his heart-felt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family, the Chief Minister prayed to the Almighty to give them courage and strength to bear this irreparable loss and grant peace to the departed soul.