IEP CHANDIGARH/JALANDHAR, September 7

          The war against drugs waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann got a major breakthrough after Jalandhar Rural Police arrested a big fish drug trafficker identified as Malkiat Singh alias Kali, who sent three swimmers to fetch a consignment of 50kg heroin from Pakistan, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.

          “Police teams have also seized 9 Kg heroin— a portion of the 50kg heroin consignment, from his possession,” he said while adding that 22.5 kg of the heroin had already been recovered by the Punjab Police taking the total recovery to 31.5 kg.

          The development came in less than a month after the Jalandhar Rural Police had arrested drug smuggler Joga Singh, who swam into the Pakistan jurisdiction to retrieve the heroin consignment and 8kg heroin was recovered from him. Earlier, the SSOC Amritsar had arrested drug smuggler identified as Shinder Singh after recovering 10kg heroin and Rs 1.5 lakhs drug money from his possession. A woman drug smuggler identified as Amandeep Kaur alias Deep Bhai linked to this module was also arrested with 1kg heroin, while, another drug smuggler Shinderpal alias Pappu was arrested with 500 grams heroin from Mehatpur.

          DGP Gaurav Yadav, while terming recovery of this big haul of heroin as the result of vigorous follow-up investigations by the Punjab Police, said that following forward and backwards linkages in this case, Jalandhar Rural Police have arrested the accused drug trafficker Malkiat Kali, who is resident of village Tendi Wala in Ferozepur, from near Boparai Canal Bridge near Goraya and recovered the heroin kept in his shoulder bag.

          Divulging details, SSP Jalandhar Rural Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said that accused Malkiat Kali revealed that he was in regular touch with a Pak-based drug smuggler identified as Haider Ali, who helped him in smuggle the heroin consignments to India in lieu of hawala operator.

          “Malkiat Kali also revealed that he had sent Joga Singh along with two more persons to Pakistan using a riverine route to fetch the 50Kg heroin consignment, which was equally distributed between his party and Joga Singh’s party,” he said, while adding that further investigations are on, and Police teams are on manhunt to arrest remaining drug smugglers involved in this module.

          A fresh case FIR no. 123 dated 07/09/2023 has been registered under section 21C of the NDPS Act at Police Station Goraya.

          She said that the Punjab Tourism Summit and Travel Mart, which is scheduled to take place from 11th to 13th September, 2023 at the Amity Campus of SAS Nagar Mohali, is poised to be a significant gathering of tourism stakeholders and investors from across the country. This event will offer a unique platform to showcase the abundant tourism potential that Punjab has to offer, she categorically added.

          Minister Anmol Gagan Maan stated, “We have extended invitations to tourism stakeholders and investors from all corners of India to participate in this summit. It will be a dynamic showcase of Punjab’s tourism opportunities.”

          The Tourism and Culture Affairs Minister informed that the state government is in process to launch a dedicated mobile application, aiming at facilitating seamless communication between investors and tour operators. She said that this app will serve as a one-stop platform for those looking to invest in our state’s tourism potential and for tour operators seeking to offer unique experiences to travelers.

          The summit will kick off on the 11th of September, followed by the Punjab Travel Mart from the 11th to the 13th of September 2023. Apart from this, Familiarization (FAM) trips are scheduled from the 13th of September 2023, encompassing Sri Amritsar Sahib, Sri Anandpur Sahib, Kapurthala and Pathankot.

          Minister Anmol Gagan Maan also highlighted remarkable initiatives undertaken by the government to bolster tourism in Punjab, including the sanctioning of projects worth Rs.91.55 Crores under the Heritage Circuit Theme of Swadesh Darshan Scheme. An impressive amount of Rs. 67.00 Crores has already been released for these projects, expected to be completed by December 2023.

          In a bid to streamline processes, Ms. Anmol Gagan Maan said that the state government has introduced online registration for three schemes such as Farm Stay, Bed and Breakfast Homestay and Tented Accommodation and Camping Sites, reducing compliance burdens for citizens and businesses. She said that currently, 56 Farm House Properties, 84 Bed & Breakfast Units, and 7 Tented Accommodation units have been registered with the department.

          She said that the government has already allocated resources for hosting various festivals and events, such as the 6th Military Literature Festival, commemorating the 50th anniversary of District Faridkot and signing an MOU with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to promote the state’s art and culture.

          Looking ahead, Ms. Anmol Gagan Maan unveiled upcoming initiatives for 2023-24, including a focus on Border Tourism, the upgrade of the Anglo-Sikh War Museum, the enhancement of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Street and the launch of Wellness Tourism and Culture Policies

IEP SAS Nagar

To prevent floods and damage to the nearby inhabitants, the water courses under encroachments would be cleared after getting an extensive demarcation of the areas under flow and buffer zone, said the deputy commissioner Aashika Jain, in a meeting held today.

      She said that the Northern Canal and Drainage Act 1873 mandates that no water body or drain should be obstructed. Referring to the recent floods scenario, she said that it has been noticed that the smooth flow of some of the water bodies have been hampered by the unplanned constructions. To prevent the flooding and maintain uninterrupted flow of the water bodies, it has been decided to allow future construction and development alongside water bodies after getting proper NOCs from the Drainage Department. 

       She directed the Sub Divisional Magistrates to complete the extensive demarcation move within stipulated time with the help of the Department of water resources officials.

     Taking up the issue of developing Miyawaki Forests in urban and rural areas, she directed the Urban local bodies officials of Zirakpur and Kharar to identify the sites in both the MCs. Similarly, the rest of the urban local bodies also asked to do the same exercise in their areas to develop Miyawaki Forests.

      Taking stock of the pendency of Driving licences and Registration Copies of the newly registered vehicles, the deputy commissioner directed the Secretary, RTA SAS Nagar to clear the pendency in a time bound manner.

      Similarly, to strengthen the health infrastructure in the district, an Aam Aadmi Clinic would be set up at Balongi, said the Deputy Commissioner. She said that we have 34 existing AACs who have been monitored regularly to ensure health facilities to the residents. Apart from that all the AACs have been issued a fund of Rs 10,000 each for requisite maintenance. She directed the health officials to maintain all the necessary stocks of Medicines and basic equipment.

     The Deputy Commissioner also reviewed the development works of Urban Local Bodies as well as Panchayats including street lights, drinking water, development works and drainage systems etc.

     Revenue Department officials asked to complete the crop damage assessment timely besides distribution of compensation to the affected farmers.

      Assessing the pendency of Sewa Kendras, the deputy commissioner directed to clear the pendency immediately to provide relief to the residents.

     Water supply and sanitation department officials asked to make sure to supply drinking water to all the consumers and house holds. She said that the 42 schemes for those a fund of Rs 45 lakh has been sought should be maintained on priority basis.

     Social Security Department officials asked to provide monetry benefits on a monthly basis on stipulated dates. They were asked to simplify the performa to ease the process of benefits. Food Supply officials directed to ensure to implement the supply of floor wheat instead of wheat grains that is expected to launch from next month.

     The officers who were present in the meeting included ADCs Viraj Shyamkarn Tidke, Geetika Singh and Damanjit Singh Mann.

Balraj Kundu, independent MLA from Meham assembly seat of Rohtak district, launched his new political party by holding a press conference at Hotel Mount View here today. The name of his newly established organization is Haryana Jansevak Party. He launched the party after getting wide feedback from the people of the state. The leader said that he would reveal his party’s strategy at a massive rally in Jind on November 1.

Balraj Kundu said, “We will not forge an alliance with JJP, BJP or Congress. His thinking is to give a new option to the people of Haryana. Our youth are falling prey to drugs and the crime rate has increased a lot. There is no one to listen to the pain of farmers. Insurance companies are dealing arbitrarily with the farmers. Compensation has not been given for the last two years. Even after depositing the premium, money is not given, nor is the premium being refunded. Insurance companies have committed a scam worth thousands of crores and this is not possible without the instigation of the state government. That is why I have formed this party to save Haryana.”

The state government has committed huge loot in the name of electricity. Bills have started rising due to the installation of a speed meter. This is very wrong. Seeing all these things I decided to form a new party. The present government of the state has not done anything noteworthy in the last nine years, rather crimes have doubled from before. If compared with the previous government in the state, debt has increased five times, inflation has increased four times and unemployment has increased three times. Asha workers, work instructors, and clerks are all on strike, whose condition has not been inquired about.

He said that the present government is avoiding its accountability, which is why it refused to discuss all the demands and proposals raised by the opposition in the House before the Assembly session. These included the demands of honorarium of Asha workers, compensation to farmers, security of temporary workers, sarpanchs, panchs, district councilors, contract teachers association, traders, sportspersons, representatives of Dalits and backward classes, etc., which did not get attention.

He said that the BJP-JJP government of Haryana has itself admitted in the Assembly that the unemployment rate in the state has reached 8.8%. The unemployment rate which was 2.9% in 2013-14 has reached around 9.0% today. The unemployment rate at the national level is 4.1% i.e. unemployment in Haryana is more than double the national average.

Despite being adjacent to the national capital, Haryana is still struggling with unemployment. The youth are worried, while 2.02 lakh posts are lying vacant in government departments. Instead of making recruitments, the government is carrying out scams like paper leaks and paper copying. By rigging the CET, the future of the youth is constantly being pushed back.

He said that thousands of unemployed youth are turning to drugs and crime. The condition of crime is such that Haryana has been considered the most unsafe state in the country in the Central Government’s Social Progress Index. The condition of crime in Haryana is such that the crime rate has doubled from 16.02 to 31.8.

He said that unnecessary information is being collected from the public in the name of family identity cards. There are so many problems in PPP and people are running around the offices to get them fixed. Similar mistakes have been made in Property ID. In this, the landlords were shown as the tenants and the tenants as the landlords. However, the government did not take action against the companies which committed irregularities on such a large scale.

Kundu said that the government is continuously cheating the farmers. The government itself accepted in the Vidhansabha that the compensation of Rs 1303 crore to the farmers has been pending for 3 years. This is the figure which has been accepted by the government. Farmers have been waiting for compensation for many seasons. The farmers have not yet received compensation for the floods that occurred in the past.