IEP Chandigarh, February 13

          Emphasizing upon transparency factor which is the hallmark of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government, the Chairman, Punjab State Food Commission D.P. Reddy today directed the installation of CCTVs in the godowns storing foodgrains which would lead to curbing the malpractices.

          Chairing a meeting of the Commission in the presence of the Director Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Ghanshyam Thori, the Chairman also said that the storage of wheat in the godowns must be ensured in a scientific manner besides the carrying out the physical verification (P.V.) at regular intervals.

          Further, the Chairman also batted for the ePoS machines to be made available at every Fair Price Shop (FPS) in order to ensure more accountability in the distribution process of foodgrains. “A mechanism should be developed to enable the lodging of complaints or to forward suggestions in both Punjabi and Hindi languages regarding the working of the fair price shop owners besides updation of the notice boards to display helpline numbers and website address of the commission”, said Mr. Reddy.

          Exhorting the officers to be in sync with the changing technology in today’s era, Mr. Reddy said that the social media handles of the commission should be followed by the Fair Price Shop dealers so as to create more awareness with regard to the activities of the commission.

          The Chairman on the occasion was apprised that instructions have been issued to all the District Controllers in Punjab for issuing directions to the field functionaries as well as to Fair Price Shop owners to distribute foodgrains to the beneficiaries at the time of the biometric authentication and generation of slips.

          Among others present on the occasion included Preety Chawla, Smt. Indra Gupta, Vijay Dutt, Chetan Prakash Dhaliwal, Members, Member Secretary of the Commission T.K. Goyal and Director, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Ghanshyam Thori.

IEP Chandigarh, February 13

          Punjab Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar has said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government will give priority to horse rearing as agriculture subsidiary occupation.

          Addressing the gathering during prize distribution ceremony of the 2nd Empire Horse Cup-2023 at village Jandiali, Ludhiana, the Cabinet Minister said that there are immense employment opportunities in this sector and the government will consider to bring horse rearing within the ambit of common farmers.

          Accompanying Agriculture Minister S. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Water Supply & Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa as the chief guests, S. Laljit Singh Bhullar said that efforts will also be made to promote Punjab horse breed “Nukra” in other states. On this occasion, S. Hardeep Singh Mundian MLA Sahnewal, S. Diljit Singh Grewal MLA Ludhiana East and Ashok Prashar Pappi were present.

          About 500 horses from Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra participated in this horse cup. Of which about 120 horses were awarded the prizes.

          The Cabinet Ministers awarded first prize in stallion category to horse “Dulla” from Punjab and Meera from Rajasthan in mares’ category. The first prize was Rs.71,000 and a trophy, while the second prize was Rs.51,000. Similarly, 10 horses were given prizes ranging from Rs.21000 to 5,000 each.

          Earlier in the day, Animal Husbandry & Dairy Development Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar along with Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer inspected the exhibition of the Dairy Development Department at fair ground, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The Cabinet Ministers also inspected mobile vans for consumer awareness. S. Bhullar instructed the officials to create more awareness among the dairy farmers in remote villages through milk producer awareness camps.

          Meanwhile, the exhibition and consultation stall set up with the objective to promote dairying as a subsidiary occupation remained the centre of attraction for the farmers, where they shared their problems and filled suggestion forms. Director Dairy Development Department Mr. Kuldeep Singh and other officials were present on this occasion.

IEP Chandigarh, February 13

          Punjab Sports Department has invited applications for awarding cash prizes to sportspersons and coaches of Punjab who won medals during the year 2020-21 and 2021-22.

          Disclosing this information in a press communiqué , Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab is taking myriad of steps to make Punjab a leading state in the country. Under this mission, new sports policy to be implemented and cash awards to players as well as to coaches will be given to honour their achievements and motivate them for further competitions.

          He said that earlier, players and coaches have been deprived of cash prizes, but under the Bhagwant Mann government, the sports department has now sought application to give them their due rights. The sports minister said that the remaining tournaments are also being included in the new sports policy so that no player will be deprived of the cash prize those have brought laurels to the state.

          The Sports Minister further informed that the applications have been invited from the Punjab players, those won medals at state, national and international levels and Coaches of medal winning players at the Olympics, Asian and Commonwealth Games or World Championships, for the period from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021 and from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022, for cash prizes. The last date to apply is 6th March 2023.

          Director Sports Amit Talwar said that the list of tournaments regarding cash prize policy, cash prize amount, eligibility and performa for application form is available on the department’s website www.pbsports.punjab.gov.in.

          He said that the eligible players and coaches should send their application in the prescribed perfroma to the concerned District Sports Officer along with their self-attested certificates by March 6, 2023. Applications received after this date will not be entertained.

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.