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ENSURE MORE NUTRITIOUS CONTENT IN MID DAY MEALS: DP REDDY

IEP Chandigarh, February 9

          Emphasizing more nutritious content in the mid day meals being provided to the children in the schools across the State, the Chairman, Punjab State Food Commission D.P. Reddy said that the cooks deployed for cooking the meals must ensure cleanliness.

          Chairing a meeting with the School Education Department here at MGSIPA regarding Mid Day meals in the State, the Chairman said that health checkups of the children at regular intervals are also the need of the hour besides taking steps to ensure the making of health profile of the children soas to have proper assessment about their well being.

          The Chairman also exhorted the officers of the department to arrange funds under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to make sure that the ROs are installed in all the schools in the coming 6 months across the State to provide clean drinking water to the students. Besides, Mr. Reddy also said that the short film made by the commission on the mid day meals should be uploaded on the EDUSAT platform of the department. Depending upon the resources, the exhaust fans should be provided to get rid of smoke thus protecting both the children as well as the cooks, said Mr. Reddy underscoring the importance of learning from the best practices adopted by the other states in this regard.

          Stressing the significance of social media in spreading awareness about the commission’s activities, the Chairman batted for the Education Department to follow the social media handles of the commission so as to ensure a wider reach for various initiatives of the commission. The notice boards and complaint boxes must be installed at all the places to generate more awareness among the people apart from enabling them to offer suggestions.

          The Chairman& Members shared their experience of field visits & gave some important suggestions. It was assured by the School Education Department authorities that the same will be kept in view & will be taken care of properly.

          Among others present on the occasion included A.K. Sharma, IRS (Retd.), Preety Chawla, Indra Gupta, Vijay Dutt, Chetan Prakash Dhaliwal, Members and officers of the Punjab State Food Commission, Director General School Education Vinay Bublani and officers of the School Education Department.

SHIKAYAT NIVARAN KENDER OF WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION DEPARTMENT RESOLVED 98 PERCENT COMPLAINTS IN LAST 11 MONTHS: JIMPA

IEP Chandigarh, February 9   

       The Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa has informed that about 98 percent of the complaints received in the Shikayat Nivaran Kender (SNK) of the department during last 11 months have been resolved. He said that under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, it is the priority of the State Government to provide clean drinking water in the villages of the state and for this purpose the department is working with all sincerity and diligence. He said that many schemes are also being initiated to keep the villages clean and garbage free.          Jimpa said that on toll free number 1800-180-2468 issued by the department, 18,693 complaints have been registered from 1 March 2022 to 6 February 2023 regarding water supply, R.O. plants, sewage, Individual Household Latrine and others. Out of these, 18,308 complaints have been redressed with the rate of redressal being 97.94 percent.          He further said that after resolving the complaint, feedback is also taken from the complainant and if he/she is not satisfied, appropriate action is taken again on his/her complaint. The Minister said that the State Government is making all efforts to provide clean drinking water and adequate sewage facility to the residents of State villages.  He said that as per the instructions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation has also started an online Janta Darbar so that citizens can raise their complaints and problems directly before the Minister.          Jimpa appealed that if any village resident has any kind of complaint or suggestion regarding water supply and sanitation, then he/she should not hesitate to submit his/her views. The State Government will leave no stone unturned for people’s welfare and lifting the standard of living, added Jimpa.

FREEDOM FIGHTERS AN ASSET FOR THE NATION: CHETAN SINGH JAURAMAJRA

IEP Chandigarh, February 9

          With Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s vision of giving utmost respect to Shaheed Bhagat Singh signifies his respect towards the valiant of the freedom struggle who risked laying down their lives for the nation. As a noble gesture to mark their contribution in freedom struggle, the Minister for Welfare of Freedom Fighters Chetan Singh Jauramajra is leaving no stone unturned for the welfare of freedom fighters.

          On the directions of CM Bhagwant Mann, Jauramajra launched a helpline number 0172-2740788 and an email pbfoodprocessingminister@gmail.com for freedom fighters which would be helpful in addressing any kind of problem or inconvenience if they face. He further said with the launch of this number  and email, freedom fighters need not to go to any government office for redressel of their grievances, infact upon getting any complaint on this helpline, government officials would visit their doorsteps and resolve any kind of difficulty being faced by them.

          It is pertinent to mention here that it is for the first time in Punjab’s governence history that the Minister Jauramajra himself visited the houses of the freedom fighters and enquired about their problems and instructed the officials for their immidiate resolution. He said it is due to the sacrifices made by these freedom fighters that we are relishing our freedom.

VIGILANCE BUREAU ARRESTS ADDITIONAL SUPERINTENDENT ENGINEER FOR TAKING BRIBE RS 15 LAKH

IEP Chandigarh February 9

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its anti-corruption campaign on Thursday, arrested an Additional Superintendent Engineer (ASE), Sukhwinder Singh Multani, posted at Jalandhar for taking a bribe of Rs 15 lakh and demanding more money of Rs 20 lakh.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the VB said this case has been registered against the above said PSPCL officer, who was earlier posted as Executive Engineer (Xen) Technical Audit, PSPCL Jalandhar on the complainant of Sharanjeet Singh, store keeper, PSPCL Verka, in Amritsar. In this regard the complainant has lodged an online plaint along with evidence in audio-video format at the Chief Minister’s anti-corruption action line.

Giving details, he added that the complainant has alleged that the above said officer had already taken Rs 15 lakh as a bribe, when he was Xen, to send an inspection report of store inventory in his favour and now demanding Rs 20 lakh more to recommend his reinstatement on the job as the complainant was suspended on the basis of stock verification report. The complainant has recorded the entire conversation as an evidence which has been submitted to the VB to probe into the gratification matter.

The spokesperson informed that the VB has investigated the allegations levelled in the online complaint and registered a corruption case against the above said PSPCL officer after finding him guilty for taking a bribe of Rs 15 lakh in three instalments and demanding Rs 20 lakh more from the complainant.

In this regard a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against the accused officer at VB police station Amritsar and he has been arrested. Further investigation in this case was under progress, he added.

Punjab’s private drug rehab centres facing closure due to Cong’s ‘policy folly’

IEP Chandigarh, February 9

Punjab Drug Rehabilitation Centres Union (PDRCU) has sought the immediate intervention of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to free them from the regressive policy enacted during the Congress regime due to which the drug rehabilitation centres being run in the private sector are on the verge of closure. PDRCU wants CM Mann to review the policy and hold its implementation, pending its review. 

Members of a special committee set up by PDRCU to address the problem held a press meeting here about the issue. The members of the committee are also owners of rehab centres and mostly ex-addicts who have joined the mainstream. The members said that PDRCU has given many representations for revoking the policy to senior officials in the health department. 

It was informed that as per the guidelines promulgated in 2011 on the intervention of the Hon’ble High Court, drug rehabilitation centres are required to have the facility of in-house counsellors.

Kunal Lakhanpal, a senior member of the committee said, “In 2020 the last Congress government in Punjab ignoring the 2011 High Court guidelines foisted a new policy on drug rehabilitation centres being run by private players. It mandates that every rehab centre should have a permanent psychiatrist, an MBBS doctor, and a nurse on its payroll. It’s illogical as no medicine is to be given at these centres. We admit people after detoxification. Such people are to be provided counselling. The idea is to make them mentally strong so that they don’t fall prey to drugs again.”

Angad Singh, a member of the committee said, “The new policy will lead to high operating costs, which we cannot meet given the fact that we run small centres and the fee charged from patients is also bare minimum, as the affected families, by and large, are poor.” 

It is pertinent to state that under the policy some private rehab centres have already been served with closure notices. Some have even closed.  There are cases where rehab centres have shifted from Punjab and set up bases in neighbouring states.

A committee member Sanjeev Sharma said, “In case the policy is enforced in its current form, as many as 74 private rehab centres will be shut down.”

 “1000’s of patients in rehab will be in trouble and those awaiting rehab will also be left in the lurch. The closure of private rehab centres will leave over 2000 people jobless,” said Jarnail Singh, a member of the committee. 

 “According to the new amendment, we will need more than 520 psychiatrists registered with the Punjab Medical Council (PMC), and we don’t have so many Psychiatrists,” said Satnam Singh, another committee member.

“What is needed is just a visiting Psychiatrist and an MBBS doctor on call,” said committee member Amarjit Singh .

Committee member Gurwinder Singh Rimpi said, “The 2020 policy clauses in relation to rehab centres should be revoked and instead guidelines by Hon’ble High Court of 2011 should be enforced. The AAP government of Punjab should adopt the Delhi model for rehab centres.” 

“The new policy states that every private rehab centre in Punjab should have 500 square yards minimum space, there will be major investments needed for this. What’s surprising is that the policy talks about a bio-waste license too, when there is no bio-waste generated, where is the need for such a license?” asked Amrinder, another member.

There are 4 categories of drug de-addiction centres in Punjab. Category 1 centres need to have psychiatrists, category 2 have OPDs where MBBS doctors are needed. The 3rd category of de-addiction-cum-rehab centres needs doctors and psychiatrists. The drug rehabilitation centres come in category 4. 

Deputy Commissioner instructs to ensure all signboards to be written in Punjabi before February 21

IEP SAS Nagar, February 9


Deputy Commissioner Ms. Ashika Jain has directed all government and semi-government offices as well as private institutions of the district to write their signboards in Punjabi language (Gurmukhi script) before February 21, 2023.
Ms. Ashika Jain said that the Punjab government has started its efforts for the promotion of Punjabi language and it has made mandotary to write signboard in Punjabi in the all government and private institutions before February 21 (International Mother Language Day). She said that in order to give priority to the mother tongue, the Punjab government has taken this decision. So, it is necessary to put up signboards in Punjabi language in government and semi-government offices, besides boards, corporations offices, educational institutions, public, private and commercial establishments.
An official spokesperson of the DC offices said that instructions also have been issued to register establishments under the Society Act and the Factory Act, to write their signboards in Punjabi. Apart from this, it has been made mandatory to write the name of road and name plates in Punjabi language. The Deputy Commissioner has issued instructions to complete this work before February 21. If anyone want to write information in other languages, then it can be written below the Punjabi language.

Samsung Galaxy S23Series Gets Record 140,000 Pre-bookings in 24 Hours in India; Book Now for Exciting Offers

IEP Chandigarh, February 09

Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, has received record pre-booking for the newly-launched Galaxy S23series in India. In the first 24 hours, over 140,000 Galaxy S23series units were pre-booked in India, which is a new record for Samsung’s flagship devices. Samsung had opened pre-booking for its new Galaxy S23Series across online and offline retail stores in the country on February 2.

“Galaxy S23series is a generational leap, with best-in-class innovation that has a significantly less environmental impact. The record pre-bookings in the first 24 hours demonstrate the excitement among Indian consumers with Galaxy S23series’ groundbreaking camera capabilities, future-ready mobile gaming experience & eco-friendly materials. The new Galaxy S23series will be manufactured at the Noida factory, which shows our commitment to India’s manufacturing and growth story,” Said Ghufran Alam, Senior Director, Mobile Business, Samsung India .

Galaxy S23Ultra comes with an all-new 200MP sensor with adaptive pixels which can capture images with epic details. With the Super Quad Pixel AF, the rear camera can focus on subjects 50% faster. The front camera on Galaxy S23series now comes with Dual Pixel autofocus technology along with Nightography, which allows shooting from the front camera even in low lighting conditions. The Dual Pixel, autofocus technology, also ensures 60% faster focus from the front camera.

Videos on Galaxy S23series get more cinematic with Super HDR, Enhanced Noise control algorithm, and 2X wider OIS for smoother & sharper output during the night.

Galaxy S23series comes with a custom-designed Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy to deliver the world’s fastest mobile graphics. Galaxy S23series comes with up to 2.7x larger vapor cooling chamber for reliable gaming performance.

Galaxy S23series takes the mobile gaming experiences to epic levels. Galaxy S23Ultra supports real-time ray tracing as it comes to mainstream mobile gaming. Users will be able to see noticeably more life-like renderings of scenes with technology that simulates and tracks every ray of light.

Galaxy S23series is designed keeping the planet in mind. Galaxy S23series is manufactured using recycled materials, including pre-consumer recycled aluminum, recycled glass, and post-consumer recycled plastics sourced from discarded fishing nets, water barrels, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Galaxy S23series come with Gorilla Glass Victus2 on both front & back along with an armor aluminum frame.

Galaxy S23series will get four generations of OS upgrades and five years of security updates. Galaxy S23series comes with Samsung Knox protection, which has received more government and industry certifications than any other mobile device, platform, or solution on the market.

Price and Availability

Pre-book for Galaxy S23series starts from February 2 across all leading online and offline retail stores. Consumers can also pre-book on Samsung Live at https://www.samsung.com/in/live-offers/ starting on February 2, 2023.

सैमसंग Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ ने भारत में 24 घंटों में 140,000 प्रिबुकिंग्स का रिकॉर्ड बनाया; आकर्षक ऑफरों के लिए अभी बुक करें

IEP Chandigarh

भारत, 09 फरवरी, 2023 – भारत के सबसे बड़े कंज़्यूमर इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स ब्रांड, सैमसंग की नई लॉन्च की गई Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ ने प्रि-बुकिंग का रिकॉर्ड बनाया है। पहले 24 घंटों में भारत में Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ की 140,000 से ज्यादा यूनिटें प्रि-बुक की गई हैं, जो सैमसंग की फ्लैगशिप डिवाईसेज़ के लिए एक नया रिकॉर्ड है। सैमसंग ने 2 फरवरी को देश के ऑनलाईन एवं ऑफलाईन रिटेल स्टोर्स पर अपनी नई Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ की प्रि-बुकिंग शुरू की थी।

सैमसंग इंडिया के मोबाइल बिजनेस के वरिष्ठ निदेशक गुफरान आलम ने कहा, ‘‘Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ ने एक पूरी पीढ़ी को पीछे छोड़ दिया है। इसमें सर्वश्रेष्ठ इनोवेशन प्रस्तुत किए गए हैं, जो पर्यावरण के अपने प्रभाव को भी काफी कम कर देंगे। पहले 24 घंटों में रिकॉर्ड स्तर पर की गई प्रि-बुकिंग Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ की अत्याधुनिक कैमरा क्षमताओं, भविष्य के लिए तैयार मोबाईल गेमिंग अनुभव और ईको-फ्रेंडली सामग्री के लिए भारतीय उपभोक्ताओं के उत्साह को प्रदर्शित करती हैं। नई Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ नोएडा की फैक्ट्री में बनाई जाएगी, जिससे भारत में निर्माण और वृऋि के प्रति हमारी प्रतिबद्धता प्रदर्शित होती है।’’

Galaxy S23 अल्ट्रा में एडैप्टिव पिक्सल के साथ ऑल-न्यू 200 मेगापिक्सल का सैंसर है, जो बेहतरीन डिटेल्स के साथ इमेज कैप्चर कर सकता है। सुपर क्वाड पिक्सल एएफ के साथ रियर कैमरा लक्ष्य पर 50 प्रतिशत ज्यादा तेजी से फोकस करता है। Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ के फ्रंट कैमरा में ड्युअल पिक्सल ऑटो फोकस टेक्नॉलॉजी के साथ नाईटोग्राफी का फीचर दिया गया है, जो कम रोशनी में भी फ्रंट कैमरा से बेहतरीन इमेज प्राप्त करने में मदद करता है। ड्युअल पिक्सल ऑटो फोकस टेक्नॉलॉजी फ्रंट कैमरा से 60 प्रतिशत ज्यादा तेज फोकस प्रदान करती है।

Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ के वीडियो सुपर एचडीआर, बेहतर न्वाईज़ कंट्रोल एलगोरिद्म, और रात में ज्यादा स्मूथ एवं शार्प आउटपुट के लिए दोगुना चौड़े ओआईएस की मदद से ज्यादा सिनेमेटिक बनते हैं।

Galaxy S23 में कस्टम डिज़ाईन का स्नैपड्रैगन 8 जनरेशन 2 मोबाईल प्लेटफॉर्म है, जो दुनिया का सबसे तेज मोबाईल ग्राफिक्स प्रदान करता है। Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ में भरोसेमंद गेमिंग के लिए 2.7 गुना ज्यादा बड़ा वेपर कूलिंग चैंबर है।

Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ ने मोबाईल गेमिंग का स्तर बहुत ऊँचा कर दिया है। Galaxy S23 अल्ट्रा मेनस्ट्रीम मोबाईल गेमिंग के लिए रियल-टाईम रे ट्रेसिंग को सपोर्ट करता है। इसलिए यूज़र्स को दृश्यों की काफी ज्यादा जीवंत रेंडरिंग दिखाई देगी, इसकी टेक्नॉलॉजी रोशनी की हर किरण को साईमुलेट और ट्रैक कर लेती है। 

Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ को पर्यावरण के अनुरूप बनाया गया है। Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ बनाने में रिसाईकल्ड सामग्री का उपयोग किया गया है, जिसमें प्रि-कंज़्यूमर रिसाईकल्ड एलुमीनियम, रिसाईकल्ड ग्लास, और पोस्ट कंज़्यूमर रिसाईकल्ड प्लास्टिक शामिल है, जो खराब हो चुके फिशिंग नेट, वाटर बैरेल्स, और पॉलीइथाईलीन टेट्राफ्थेलेट (पेट) बोतलों से प्राप्त होती है। Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ में आर्मर एलुमीनियम फ्रेम के साथ फ्रंट और बैक दोनों पर गोरिल्ला ग्लास विक्टस 2 की सुरक्षा है।

Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ के साथ चार जनरेशन के ऑपरेटिंग सिस्टम अपग्रेड्स और पाँच सालों तक सिक्योरिटी अपडेट मिलेंगे। Galaxy S23 सीरीज़ में सैमसंग नॉक्स की सुरक्षा है, जिसे सरकार और उद्योग से बाजार में किसी भी अन्य मोबाईल डिवाईस, प्लेटफॉर्म, या समाधान के मुकाबले ज्यादा सर्टिफिकेशन प्राप्त हो चुके हैं।

77 PROPERTIES INCLUDING 6 GROUP HOUSING SITES IN MOHALI TO BE E-AUCTIONED: AMAN ARORA

IEP Chandigarh/SAS Nagar, February 8  

        In order to provide an opportunity to buy a property in the model city of Punjab, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) will conduct an e-auction of around 77 properties situated in different projects/sectors of SAS Nagar (Mohali).          Revealing the details about the e-auction, Punjab Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Minister Mr. Aman Arora said that the e-auction will commence on February 17 at 9am and will conclude on March 6 at 1pm. The total reserve price of all the properties offered in the e-auction stands at around Rs2100 crore.          On the directions of Mr. Aman Arora, GMADA has released an email helpdesk@gmada.gov.in to smoothen the process and help the bidders in case they have any query or face any problem in placing the bids.          The H&UD Minister said that GMADA has offered a mix bag of properties including six group housing sites, one school site, one hotel site, one nursing home site, nine IT Industrial plots, two commercial chunk sites and around 57 SCOs & booths. These sites are situated in Aerocity, Sector 83-Alpha, Sector 66-Beta, IT City Sector 101-Alpha and other locations in SAS Nagar.          He said that interested participants can visit the e-auction portal https://puda.e-auctions.in for accessing the details pertaining to properties available for bidding. The procedure of registration to participate in the bidding process, payment schedule, size of sites, location etc. would be uploaded on the portal before commencement of the e-auction. The bidders will have to place bids up and above the reserve price fixed for a particular site. There would be no bar on the number of bids to be placed and bidders could revise their bids multiple times, he added.          The Authority will allot the sites to the successful bidders on receiving 10% payment of the final bidding price and possession of sites would be handed over as per terms and conditions of the auction policy, stated the H&UD Minister.

BHAGWANT MANN GOVERNMENT HAS BROKEN THE BACKBONE OF SAND MAFIA: ASSERTS MEET HAYER

IEP Chandigarh/Nawanshahr, February 8

          Punjab Mining and Geology Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said here, today, that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led state government has broken the backbone of sand mafia by bringing transparency in the sand supply. 

          The Minister of Mines and Geology, who inspected the public sand mining site at Khoja village in Nawanshahr, today, said that the Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government has fulfilled the promise of providing sand from the sand mines for Rs 5.50 per cubic feet to the people and has also proved that the transparency in governance and honesty towards public interest is the biggest priority of the state government.  He said now onwards neither any goon will be found for extortion in the name of mining nor there any illegal mining.  He said that for the Punjab government, the interests of the common people are above the revenue from sand.

          Meet Hayer said that in view of the massive response to the public sand mines in 7 districts of Punjab launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday from Ludhiana and the ease of providing sand to the common people, the scope of these mines will be extended by the end of this month.  The number of public sand mines will be increased to 50 in 14 districts.  He said that the target has been set to increase this number to over 150 by next year.

          Responding a media query whether all ‘clearances’ have been taken from the competitive authorities to operate these public sand mines, the Minister said that there was a special instruction in this regard by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, according to which these mines have been opened to the public only after taking necessary approvals from the the Honorable High Court and State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).

           Mining Minister Meet Hayer, who visited Khoja to intercat with the people who came to procure sand and the labourers who loaded the sand, walked barefoot through the river water to them and asked about any kind of additional charges, if taken by anyone and also took their feedback.  The people who came there to buy sand and the sand loading labor said on this occasion that after about 15 years, open sale and supply of sand has to be found in Punjab like old times.  The tractor-trolley owners apprised the Minister that earlier, the sand loading work and transportation was limited to machines and cranes and heavy commercial vehicles that rendered many people jobless but now the days have changes.

          Meet Hayer said that he is satisfied that the Bhagwant Mann government’s initiative of throwing open public sand mines has benefited the common people at the ground level.  He said that the purpose of his inspection of these sites is to speed up the work of other public mines to be opened in the next few days.  Priority is being given to those places where the public mine is close to the main road, the road leading to the quarry is almost government owned, there is no charge for using the private road.  He said that with the opening of more public sand mines in the state, there will be no paucity of sand for the needy persons who want to have a roof over their heads. Similarly, to benefit the districts having no sand mine, a sufficient number of public mines would be opened in the districts, next to them. 

          Director Mines and Geology Davinder Pal Singh Kharbanda, who was present on the occasion, told the Minister of Mines that to maintain transparency in the working of public sand mines and to check illegal mining, a ‘QR code’ will be sent to the buyer’s mobile phone, in which sand  Information related to site name, payment, date and sand slip duration can be viewed by scanning by the enforcement agencies.

          On this occasion, AAP’s Nawanshahr senior leader Lalit Mohan Pathak specially thanked the Minister of Mines Meet Hayer and appreciated the efforts to provide big relief to the common people by the Bhagwant Mann government through opening of public sand mines.  He said that with this, the common people have not only got cheap sand, but hundreds of households have also got employment through filling and tractor transportation.

          On this occasion, SSP Bhagirth Singh Meena, ADC (G) Rajiv Verma, SDM Nawanshahr Major Shivraj Singh Ball, DSP Nawanshahr Ranjit Singh Badesha, Superintending Engineer (Headquarters) Manoj Bansal of Mines and Geology Department,  Executive Engineer Happy Kumar, SDO Gurjeet Singh, Tehsildar Sarvesh Rajan, AAP District Secretary Gagan Agnihotri, Sarpanch Pargat Ram, Numdar Bhupinder Singh and a large number of local people were present.