IEP Patiala, February 13

Slamming the Union government for step motherly with the state, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today questioned that if special trains can be allotted for ferrying paddy from state to other parts then why can’t trains be allotted to transporting coal to the state.

Addressing the general body meeting of the PSEB Engineers Association here today, the Chief Minister said that it is a paradoxical situation that the coal fetched from the coal mines allotted to the state are first transported to ports and then via sea route it is ferried to other end of country. He said that from this port it is then transported to the state via trains. Bhagwant Mann said that it is irrational as the coal can be supplied directed to the state via train from the source.

The Chief Minister said that the entire faulty mechanism has been devised by the Union government just to extend largesse to its friends. He said that Punjab is being made to bear high expense of coal just to benefit Adanis. Bhagwant Mann said that it is unjustified, intolerable and unwarranted, adding that it enhances the expenditure being borne by the state to transport coal.

The Chief Minister said that it is strange that a government which is duty bound to work for the well being of people devise such policies just to benefit their friends. He said that this is against the concept of democracy as instead of welfare of people, the government is working to give profit to their friends. Bhagwant Mann said that such moves will be opposed vehemently to secure the interests of people.

The Chief Minister categorically said that interests of Punjab will be secured in the nomination of the member of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). Bhagwant Mann said that he has already flagged up this issue with the government of India and no stone will be left unturned for that. He said that the state government is duty bound to ensure that no injustice is meted out with the state.

The Chief Minister said that the days of long cuts have ended in the state as Punjab is heading towards becoming power surplus. He said that due to the efforts of his government the power generation in the state has been enhanced by 83%. Bhagwant Mann said that owing to strenuous efforts made by his government the supply of coal for power generation from Pachwara coal mine has resumed after a long time.

The  Chief Minister said that the state government has fulfilled the guarantee of giving 300 units of free electricity per month from July 1. He said that it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that 87% of the households in the state have zero electricity bill in the months of November-December, 2022. Bhagwant Mann said that he hails from a common family and knows well what are the problems being faced by them.

The Chief Minister also reiterated the firm commitment of his government to make Punjab a ‘drug free state’. He said that the menace of drugs is being dealt with a heavy hand and a zero tolerance policy is being adopted against the drug peddlers. Bhagwant Mann said that sporting activity is being promoted in the state along with opening of new avenues of employment to channelize the unbounded energy of youth in a positive direction.

The Chief Minister said that they had strongly opposed the central government’s arbitrary introduction of the Electricity Amendment Bill-2022 in Parliament without even consulting the states. He said that the move was an attack on the constitutional rights of the states adding that through such nefarious designs the Union government is weakening the foundations of the federal structure. Bhagwant Mann said that the states will not sit silently against this attempt of the Government of India to centralise democracy.

The Chief Minister quipped that earlier the industries used to sign MOUs with the families in power but ever since he has assumed charge of government, the agreements are signed for people of state. He said that earlier the affluent families used to get benefit of these agreements but now Punjabis will enjoy its fruits. Bhagwant Mann said that this is because his government is working untiringly for the well being of every strata of society.

The Chief Minister envisioned that the Invest Punjab Summit being organized on February 23-24 will prove to be a milestone in giving a major fillip to industrial growth of the state. He said that the state government has already finalized the arrangements for this mega event. Bhagwant Mann said that the main motive behind giving fillip to industrialization in the state is to reverse the trend of brain drain in the state by opening new vistas of employment for the youth.

On the occasion Cabinet Ministers Harbhajan Singh ETO, Dr. Balbir Singh and Chetan Singh Jouramajra were also present

IEP Chandigarh, February 13     

     With the decisive war against drugs waged on the directions of Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Mann to root out the menace of drugs has entered the eighth month, Punjab Police have arrested as many as 10576 drug smugglers including 1540 big fish since July 5, 2022. The Police have registered a total of 7999 first information reports (FIRs) of which 915 are related to commercial quantity.          Inspector General of Police (IGP) Headquarters Sukhchain Singh Gill, who was addressing his weekly Press Conference here on Monday, said that the Police teams have recovered 529.53-Kg Heroin from across the state after carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas besides laying nakas at vulnerable routes across the state. Additionally, 147.5-Kg heroin was recovered by the teams of Punjab Police from Seaports of Gujarat and Maharashtra, taking the total effective recovery of heroin to 677.03-Kgs in just seven months, he said.          Apart from seizing big-haul of heroin, the IGP said that Police have also recovered 424-Kg opium, 480.24-Kg Ganja, 255 quintals of poppy husk, and 51.39 lakhs tablets/capsules/injections/vials of Pharma opioids from across the state. The Police have also recovered Rs 10.03 crores of drug money from the possession of drug smugglers arrested in these seven months.              Giving a weekly update, the IGP said that in the last one week, the police have arrested 294 drug smugglers/suppliers after registering 231 first information reports (FIRs), including 27 commercial, and recovered 33.60-Kg Heroin, 10.60-Kg opium, 12.75-Kg Ganja, 3 quintals of poppy husk, and 37105 tablets/capsules/injections/vials of Pharma opioids besides recovering Rs 33.53 lakh drug money from their possession.          He said that with 20 more Proclaimed Offenders (POs)/Absconders in NDPS cases arrested in the last one week, the total number of arrests reached 683 since the special drive to arrest POs/absconders was started on July 5, 2022.          Pertinently, Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab Gaurav Yadav had given strict instructions to all the CPs/SSPs to investigate backward and forward linkages minutely in each and every case, especially related to drug recoveries, even if they recover a meager amount of drugs.          Meanwhile, on the direction of Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Mann to make Punjab a drug-free state, extensive anti-drug drives have been launched by the Punjab Police to combat the menace of drugs from the border State. The DGP has also strictly ordered all the CPs/SSPs to identify all hotspots where drugs are prevalent and all top drug smugglers in their jurisdictions. He also directed the Police chiefs to effectively forfeit the property of all the arrested drug smugglers so that their ill-gotten money could be recovered. 

IEP Chandigarh, February 13 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today asked the officers to ensure foolproof arrangements for the upcoming festival of Hola Mohalla at Sri Anandpur Sahib. Chairing a high level meeting here today to finalise arrangements for the mega event, the Chief Minister said that the festival of Hola Mohall is a symbol of the martial spirit of the Punjabis in general and the Sikh community in particular. He said that huge participation of the people from different walks of life is witnessed on the holy land of Sri Anandpur Sahib during the festival. Bhagwant Mann said that elaborate arrangements should be made to facilitate lakhs of devotees from across the state on this sacred land. The Chief Minister said that every year pilgrims celebrate this traditional spirit of these festivals with the colors of unity, tolerance, brotherhood and compassion. He said that elaborate arrangements for traffic diversion, parking of vehicles, security arrangements, boarding, lodging and other facilities should be made for the pilgrims. Bhagwant Mann said that meticulous planning and execution of everything should be ensured so that pilgrims do not face any inconvenience. The Chief Minister said that the holy city of Sri Anandpur Sahib has the privilege of having been founded by the Ninth Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in 1665, who sacrificed his life to uphold human dignity and human rights. He further said that this revered place was also the birthplace of Khalsa as in the year 1699 the tenth master of Sikhs Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji laid the foundation of Khalsa Panth at this sacred land on the historic day of Baisakhi. Bhagwant Mann said that with all its humility and enthusiasm the state government is duty bound to ensure world class and flawless arrangements for the devotees visiting the holy city during Hola Mohalla. He called upon the people to celebrate this mega event collectively with great enthusiasm thereby rising above the parochial considerations of caste, color, creed and religion in order to demonstrate the ethos of secularism and religious tolerance.

IEP Chandigarh,  February 12

          The state government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is making continuous efforts to provide good governance to the people and to raise their standard of living.  Under this purpose, Minister of Social Security, Women and Child Development of Punjab Dr. Baljit Kaur operated a blind couple’s eyes of Fazilka at free of cost which was completely successful.  Today, after the treatment of one month, Minister was here to know the condition of the couple.

          Dr. Baljit Kaur shared more information that Suraj and Kavita, husband and wife, from village Ladhuwala, Fazilka had lost their eyesight due to white cataracts for a past year.  She expressed that both had been ignored due to their poverty. These patients were brought by an institution.  She said that both the husband and wife underwent an eye surgery a month ago which was remained successful and now the couple have seen the colors of life.

          The Cabinet Minister further said that Suraj and Kavita, both husband and wife, had come today for the operation of their other eye.  She said that both of them have been operated and surgery of white cataract has been done successfully.  She shared that these people always motivate the society to work ahead in life.  She said that both of them can now see the universe with their own eyes.

          On this occasion, Sri Guru Nanak Sahib Sarbviapi Modikhana community apart from other social workers were also present.

IEP Ludhiana, February 12

          Reiterating the firm commitment of the state government to make agriculture a profitable venture, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday advocated for making new experiments in the field of agriculture to supplement the income of the farmers.

          Presiding over the first of its kind initiative of  Government- Farmers (Sarkar-Kisan) interaction (milni), which got massive response from the farmers here at PAU, the Chief Minister said that this unique endeavor is aimed at ensuring the well being of the farmers. He said that active participation of farmers is the need of the hour to bail them out from the ongoing agrarian crisis. Bhagwant Mann said that due to ever escalating input costs and diminishing returns agriculture is no longer profitable venture.

          The Chief Minister said that due to this the farmers of the state are on cross roads. He said that the sole motive of organizing this interaction is to reduce the gap between decision makers and stakeholders so that policies are designed as per the needs of the farmers. Bhagwant Mann called upon the farmers to shun traditional methods of agriculture and adopt new ultra modern techniques for maximizing their profit adding that the state government will ensure fulsome support and cooperation to them. 

          The Chief Minister said that the state government is already pursuing the matter of providing Minimum Support Price (MSP) to the farmers on alternative crops with the Government of India. He said that this will help in supplementing the income of the farmers on one hand and weaning away the menace of stubble burning on the other. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is also laying major thrust on the food processing sector and processing plants for Sugarcane, Leechi, Garlic, Kinnow and other fruits will soon be set up in the state.

          The Chief Minister also said that the state government is also planning to boost the agro-industry in a big way. He said that Punjab produces 80% of the total Basmati produced in the country adding that this production will be further enhanced in the coming days. Bhagwant Mann said that this will further give fillip to the Basmati industry on one hand and supplement the income of farmers besides saving the precious natural resource in the form of water.

          The Chief Minister gave a clarion call to the farmers to adopt Basmati cultivation across the state. He assured the farmers that the state government will make every effort to ensure that they do not suffer any sort of loss in cultivation of Basmati. Bhagwant Mann also said that every effort will be made to ensure that assured price is made available on Basmati cultivation.

          The Chief Minister said that the state government is also mulling to enhance the cultivation by optimum utilization of the canal water.  He said that the irrigation network across the state will be further spruced up to benefit the framers. Bhagwant Mann said that all out efforts will be made to ensure that water reaches even at the tail end villages.

          The Chief Minister said that in a major pro-farmer initiative, no power cut was imposed in the state during the previous paddy season due to which farmers got uninterrupted and regular supply of power.  He said that due to the efforts of his government the power generation in the state has been enhanced by 83%. Bhagwant Mann said that owing to strenuous efforts made by his government the supply of coal for power generation from Pachwara coal mine has resumed after a long time.

          The Chief Minister said that as the state now has surplus coal with it, the Punjab government has also urged the Union government to give consent to coal supply to the private thermal plants. He said that the state government is providing corruption free governance to the people and several initiatives have been taken in every sector. Bhagwant Mann said that till now more than 9000 acres of land have been recovered from under the illegal occupation adding that this drive will continue in coming days too.

          The Chief Minister further said that his government has broken the backbone of the sand mafia by bringing transparency in the sand mining. Bhagwant Mann said that 16 public mines have been dedicated to the masses thereby ensuring pit head price of sand to Rs 5.50 per cubic feet. He categorically said that the sand mafia that had flourished during the previous government regimes will no longer exploit the people.

          The Chief Minister also reiterated the firm commitment of his government to make Punjab a ‘drug free state’. He said that the menace of drugs is being dealt with a heavy hand and a zero tolerance policy is being adopted against the drug peddlers. Bhagwant Mann said that sporting activity is being promoted in the state along with opening of new avenues of employment to channelize the unbounded energy of youth in a positive direction.

          The Chief Minister also called upon the officers especially the deputy Commissioners and Additional Deputy Commissioners to maximize their field visits, especially in villages, and interactions with the people by going to villages. He said that it is the need of the hour to facilitate the people in getting their day-to-day works done easily besides ensuring good governance to them. Bhagwant Mann said that this will help in better functioning of the offices along with better acquaintance with the ground realities.

          Meanwhile, during this Sarkar-Kisan Milni held at Punjab Agriculture University around 15,000 farmers registered themselves.

          Renowned Punjabi singer and lyricist Debi Makhoospuri and Raj Tewari enthralled the audience with their spellbound performances.

          Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Cabinet Ministers Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljeet Singh Bhullar, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Harbhajan Singh ETO, MPs Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and Sanjeev Arora and others.