Chandigarh, December 18

Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President Rao Narender Singh strongly criticized the policies of the Central Government and BJP-ruled state governments regarding the recent redefinition of the Aravalli mountain range. He described it as disastrous for the environment and a grave threat to the future of coming generations.

Rao Narender Singh stated that the Aravalli range is a natural heritage of North India and functions as a strong “green wall” that prevents the expansion of the Thar Desert. This region plays a crucial role in water conservation, maintaining biodiversity, and preserving air quality. However, under the recent definition, hills below 100 meters in height are no longer being considered part of the Aravalli range, which will push the entire region toward large-scale destruction.

He alleged that the BJP government is deliberately manipulating the definition of the Aravalli to promote mining, real estate, and industrial activities. This will severely disrupt ecological balance, leading to declining groundwater levels, increased air pollution, and loss of biodiversity. If the Aravalli is not protected, the threat of desertification will rapidly increase in Delhi-NCR and surrounding regions, the consequences of which will be borne by future generations.

Rao Narender Singh warned that this anti-environment policy not only weakens the natural protective shield but also reflects an anti-people mindset. The Congress Party will fight at every level to protect the Aravalli and will not tolerate any compromise with the environment. He demanded that the Central Government immediately reconsider this definition.

Ropar:

Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar welcomed Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India, to the institute and briefed him on IIT Ropar’s expanding research, innovation and technology-driven initiatives. Prof. Sood is also the Chief Guest of the ongoing International Conference on Physics Education (ICPE) 2025 being hosted at IIT Ropar.

During the interaction, the Prof. Rajeev Ahuja highlighted IIT Ropar’s growing contributions in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, advanced materials, clean energy, agriculture technology and education innovation, supported by strong industry partnerships and national missions. Prof. Sood appreciated IIT Ropar’s integrated approach to research, innovation and societal impact, and underscored the importance of aligning academic research with national priorities.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Rajeev Ahuja said, “It was an honour to welcome Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood to IIT Ropar. As a premier institution committed to cutting-edge research and innovation, we are continuously strengthening our capabilities in physics and interdisciplinary sciences to address national and global challenges. ICPE 2025 reflects our commitment to advancing physics education through research-driven pedagogy and international collaboration.”

Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, himself a distinguished physicist with an extensive research career, discussed the institute’s strong emphasis on fundamental and applied physics research. He is one of the most highly cited researchers as well as top 5 materials Scientist in Sweden & India. He outlined ongoing work in experimental and theoretical physics, interdisciplinary collaborations and the institute’s commitment to strengthening physics education through research-led teaching and global engagement.

Prof. Sood also interacted with faculty members and conference participants, sharing insights on strengthening India’s science ecosystem through modern pedagogy, translational research and innovation-led growth.

ICPE 2025 saw strong academic engagement on December 17 and 18, with plenary and invited talks on active learning, physics education research, quantum education, AI-enabled learning and gender equity, including a key panel discussion on inclusivity in Indian physics education. A major highlight on December 18 was Padma Shri Prof. H.C. Verma’s candid interaction with Mr. Prateek Shukla, MASAI School, Prof. Shilpi Chaudhary, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh and students which drew an enthusiastic response from participants and sparked deep discussions on experiential learning, conceptual clarity and the future of physics education in India.

ICPE 2025, a five-day international conference being held from December 16 to 20, has brought together over 3000 students. With two more days remaining, the conference will continue to host major discussions on emerging trends in physics education, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, industry-academia linkages and future-ready curriculum.

Through ICPE 2025 and high-level engagements such as the visit of the Principal Scientific Adviser, IIT Ropar continues to strengthen its position as a leading hub for innovation-driven research, global academic collaboration and excellence in science and engineering education.

CHANDIGARH, December 18:

          Continuing the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state consecutively for the 292nd day, Punjab Police conducted raids at 268 locations on Thursday leading to the arrest of 51 drug smugglers after registration of 40 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 40,623 in 292 days.

          The raids have resulted in recovery of 3.9 kg heroin, 500 grams opium, 165 intoxicant tablets/capsules and Rs 8190 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.

          Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.

          Over 100 Police teams, comprising over 800 police personnel, under the supervision of 54 gazetted officers have conducted 268 raids across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 253 suspicious persons during the day-long operation.

          The state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 17 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

Chandigarh: The doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali, successfully restored

The movement and functional use of the arm were restored successfully in a 26-year-old woman from Tanzania who was living with a complete brachial plexus injury for more than six months. Brachial plexus injury is a severe nerve condition that resulted in complete paralysis of her left arm.

Loveness Ahmed, a resident of Tanzania, sustained severe nerve damage in a road traffic incident earlier this year, affecting the network of nerves connecting the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hand. The trauma resulted in total loss of movement and sensation in her left arm, profoundly affecting her independence, daily activities, and emotional well-being.

After undergoing conservative treatment in her home country with little improvement, she travelled to India in search of specialised care.

At Max Hospital, Mohali, a detailed clinical examination and nerve assessment revealed that her condition required advanced nerve transfer surgery, a highly specialised microsurgical procedure.

The complex reconstructive surgery was performed by Dr. Rishi Dhawan associate director plastic surgery, using a state-of-the-art microsurgical technique.

The procedure involved redirecting healthy, functioning nerves from within the patient’s own body to restore nerve signals to paralysed muscles. The aim was to re-establish communication between the brain and the affected muscles and help regain essential arm function.

Dr. Dhawan said, “Complete brachial plexus injuries are among the most challenging nerve conditions to treat. They require precise planning, meticulous microsurgery, and strong patient commitment. Brachial plexus injuries, though relatively uncommon, are increasingly seen due to a rise in high-velocity road accidents. These injuries can cause weakness, loss of sensation, or complete paralysis of the arm. In this case, timely intervention and the patient’s dedication to rehabilitation played a crucial role in achieving a meaningful functional recovery.”

Chandigarh: PGIMER Chandigarh, has been conferred the title of Best Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Institute in the Country for the second consecutive year by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India. The award was presented at a national conclave titled ARISE 2025, held at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi, and organized by Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn)—the central HTA body under the MoHFW. The honour was jointly conferred by Prof. V. K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, and Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR).
This marks the second time PGIMER has received this national recognition, having earlier been adjudged the best HTA institute at the ICMR–DHR Health Summit held in New Delhi last year. PGIMER’s leadership in the field of HTA is anchored in the HTA Resource Hub established by the Department of Health Research at the Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGI. The Hub is led by Prof. Shankar Prinja, Professor of Health Economics, who has played a pivotal role in building national capacity for evidence-informed health decision-making.
The ARISE 2025 ceremony witnessed participation from over 35 premier medical colleges and ICMR institutes engaged in HTA activities across the country. Addressing the gathering, Prof. V. K. Paul underlined that the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ can be realized only through strong, credible institutions, and emphasized that the role of Health Technology Assessment is quintessential for ensuring that public money is allocated to interventions that deliver the greatest health gains in an equitable and efficient manner. Reflecting on India’s HTA journey over the past eight years, Dr. Rajiv Bahl noted that HTA has emerged as a powerful policy tool for the Government of India, enabling more rational and transparent resource allocation. He highlighted its role in designing reimbursement rates under Ayushman Bharat–PMJAY, facilitating procurement of high-value medical devices at value-based prices, and supporting evidence-based coverage decisions. Dr. Bahl commended Prof. Prinja and the PGIMER team for their sustained efforts in strengthening HTA capacity nationwide, while also stressing the need to further expand institutional and human resource capacity to keep pace with rapid advances in medical science.
Director PGIMER Prof. Vivek Lal  lauded PGI’s contribution to policy-relevant research, and noted that the Institute will continue to strengthen the efforts in building more capacity in this field in the entire country. Prof Arun Kumar Aggarwal highlighted the commitment of Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health in creating more advanced courses in the field of health economics and HTA. Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Prinja talked about the challenges faced by institutions in conducting and applying HTA for policy use. He outlined a clear roadmap for advancing HTA in India, emphasizing that closer and more sustained engagement with policymakers and key health system stakeholders, along with continuous improvement in the way studies are designed and evidence is generated, is essential to ensure that findings meaningfully inform decisions and translate into real-world impact.
The recognition reinforces PGI Chandigarh’s position as a national leader in health and medical research and its continuing contribution to strengthening evidence-based, value-oriented decision-making within India’s health system.

Chandigarh, 17 December.

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, Dushyant Chautala, has once again raised serious questions over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Sharing a video on social media of the clash that took place on Wednesday at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, Chautala asked the state government whether this is what law and order has come to in Haryana.

He said that miscreants entered the university premises in a bulletproof vehicle with the intention to attack, and demanded an answer from Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on how such an incident could happen. Chautala further stated that if the government truly intends to take action, it must begin by acting against those criminal elements who roam around in bulletproof vehicles.

The former Deputy CM said that the poor law and order situation in the state is no longer hidden from anyone. He added that frequent incidents of loot, robbery, murder and abduction have created an atmosphere of fear in Haryana, and now even educational institutions are no longer safe.

Chautala said that stone pelting and sticks were used in broad daylight inside MDU, and shockingly, a bulletproof vehicle even rammed into students. He said there was no one present to stop these miscreants. These horrifying visuals, he added, clearly show that there is no semblance of law left in the state and that criminal elements have no fear of the police.

Expressing concern, Dushyant Chautala said that the atmosphere of insecurity in the state is alarming, and they have been consistently demanding that Chief Minister Nayab Saini—who also heads the Home Department—take strict measures. However, due to the government’s failure to act decisively, Haryana’s law and order situation has completely collapsed.

The former Deputy CM said that the government must urgently fill the shortage of police personnel through new recruitments, and instead of indulging in hollow publicity, it must work on the ground to improve the current situation.

Panchkula (17 December 2025)

In the money laundering case related to the National Herald, a Delhi court has refused to take cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Calling the decision a major victory, the Congress described it as a triumph of truth. Party leaders said the verdict exposed the BJP’s political malafide intent and accused the central government of serious misuse of investigative agencies.

In the wake of this development, under the leadership of Haryana Congress President Rao Narendra Singh and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress MLAs, office-bearers and workers gheraoed the BJP headquarters in Panchkula. During the protest, slogans were raised against the BJP and a strong demonstration was held.

Addressing the gathering, State Congress President Rao Narendra Singh said that the court clearly stated in its order that the case was based on a private complaint and that, in the absence of registration of an FIR for the predicate offence, no further action could be taken on the ED’s complaint. As a result, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders received immediate relief. He termed this the failure of the alleged conspiracy of the Modi government.

Launching a sharp attack on the BJP, Rao Narendra Singh said, “BJP’s attempt to construct a building of lies without any foundation has failed. There was neither any transaction nor any money laundering. Under which category of crime does the transfer of a company’s loan fall?”

He said the entire case was driven by political vendetta. The verdict of the honourable court has proved that truth inevitably triumphs over falsehood, even if it takes time.

Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda also reacted strongly, saying, “The voice of Congress cannot be suppressed by misusing investigative agencies. This conspiracy of the BJP was aimed at weakening the Congress, but the people are watching everything. Our party will emerge even stronger.”

He said that after this verdict, party workers are highly motivated and plans are being made at several places to gherao BJP headquarters. These protests will be against the misuse of agencies and attacks on democracy.

Calling it a victory of truth, he said the BJP’s narrow mindset and conspiracies have been completely exposed. He added that seeing the growing popularity of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, these corrupt elements are deeply rattled and are now conspiring to malign Congress and its leaders by adopting various tactics. However, this strong voice raised to protect democracy can no longer be silenced.

During the protest, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee Working President Ram Kishan Gurjar; MLAs Maman Khan, Ram Karan Kala, Naresh Selwal, Rajbir Fartiya, Balram Dangi, Inderaj Narwal and Jassi Petwad; former MLAs Shamsher Singh Gogi, Mewa Singh, Pradeep Chaudhary, Surender Panwar and Balbir Balmiki; State Media In-charge Sanjeev Bhardwaj; District Congress President Sanjay Chauhan; Dushyant Chauhan, Parvinder Singh Pari, Narpal Gurjar, Devender Singh, Parag Gaba, Rajesh Vaidh, Rishipal Sihag, Kuldeep Singh K.D., Pradeep Gulia, Satveer Jhukiya, Subhash Chandra, Ramesh Malik and Baljeet Singh Makkad; Haryana Pradesh Mahila Congress President Sudha Bhardwaj; Haryana Youth Congress President Nishit Kataria; Haryana Congress Seva Dal President Poonam Chauhan; Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Karnal Divyanshu Buddhiraja; Chandveer Hooda, Manveer Kaur Gill; Municipal Councillors Akshaydeep Chaudhary and Pankaj Balmiki; Rakesh Saundhi, Rajesh Kakkar, Ravindra Rawal, Dalveer Balmiki, Sunita Sharma, Rajesh Kona, Randhir Rana, Suresh Unishpur, Naresh Mann, along with hundreds of Congress workers, were present.

Chandigarh:

In a strong enforcement action to safeguard public land and uphold cleanliness standards, the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh has challaned a resident of the Ramdarbar area for illegally dumping construction debris (malba) in an open space belonging to the Chandigarh Administration.

During routine morning monitoring, an MC Chandigarh sanitary team spotted a resident unloading debris at the open space. Acting swiftly, the team caught the violator red-handed and issued a challan on the spot for violation of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Rules. A penalty of ₹13,401 has been imposed on the offender.

The Commissioner, MC Chandigarh, Sh. Amit Kumar, IAS, has issued strict directions to all Sanitary Inspectors to maintain heightened vigilance and take immediate action against any person found dumping garbage or debris on public land. He directed that violators be challaned without delay, vehicles used for such illegal activities be impounded, and legal proceedings be initiated as per the provisions of the MSW Rules.

The Municipal Corporation Chandigarh has reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards illegal dumping and appealed to citizens to dispose of waste and construction material only at designated sites in the interest of cleanliness and environmental protection.

Chandigarh: Prof. Sudhir Bhandari received first prize in the faculty presentation under the Aavishkar category at the 53rd National conference of Indian Prosthodontic Society held from 4-7th December in Navi Mumbai.
The presentation focussed on the Braille incorporated custom ocular prosthesis (artificial eye) designed for a 6 year old child with complete visual impairment in both the eyes. This patented work is the first ever reported case of using braille in the domain of maxillofacial prosthesis. This work was jointly done by Dr Bhavita Wadwa, Associate professor at OHSC, Dr Usha Singh, Professor department of Ophthalmology, and Dr Manisha Khanna, senior research fellow at OHSC.

The recognition by the premier national body in Prosthodontics is a testament to the institute’s mandate to provide excellent and well coordinated multidisciplinary patient care.

CHANDIGARH, December 16:

          Continuing the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state consecutively for the 290th day, Punjab Police conducted raids at 263 locations on Tuesday leading to the arrest of 76 drug smugglers after registration of 57 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 40,410 in 290 days.

          The raids have resulted in recovery of 2.2 kg heroin, 10 kg opium, 36 kg poppy husk, 1010 intoxicant tablets/capsules and Rs 1520 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.

          Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.

          Over 100 Police teams, comprising over 800 police personnel, under the supervision of 60 gazetted officers have conducted 263 raids across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 264 suspicious persons during the day-long operation.

          The state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 25 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.