Chandigarh, April 3:

          In a major push to improve government schools to fulfil the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann’s promise of world-class education, the Punjab Government has successfully upgraded over 1,2000 government schools under the “Sikhya Kranti” program. The initiative has modernized classrooms, infrastructure, and digital learning facilities to match the best educational standards. 

          Revealing the information about the ambitious program, Punjab School Education Minister S. Harjot Singh Bains said that the government schools have been equipped with all the essential amenities including Wi-Fi Internet connections, furniture, clean drinking water, separate toilets for girls and boys.

          He also highlighted that under this program, 6,812 schools now have new or repaired boundary walls, covering nearly 1,000 kilometres for enhanced safety for students. Additionally, 5,399 new classrooms have been built to accommodate students better, while sanitation facilities have seen a major upgrade with 2,976 new toilets in as many as 2,934 schools and repaired 7,166 toilets across 4,889 schools.

           The program has also focused on student’s comfort and well-being, 1,16,901 dual desks, tables, and chairs have been provided to schools ensuring a dedicated learning space for each student, he said, while adding that 359 school playgrounds have been developed to promote sports and physical activity among students. Furthermore, to modernise education, 2,261 smart classrooms with interactive panels have been installed in 1,886 schools, incorporating technology into education for a more engaging learning experience.

          To mark the completion of these improvements, the Education Minister said that the Punjab School Education Department will hold inauguration ceremonies to be commenced from April 7 onwards, and continue until May 31st across all schools to showcase infrastructure development works, including additional classrooms, boundary walls, toilet blocks, drinking water facilities, libraries, playgrounds, smart classrooms, and other critical improvements, have been completed.

          Meanwhile, this initiative underscores the state government’s commitment to providing quality education for all children. The improved learning environment will empower students to excel academically, and this investment in education is expected to have a lasting impact on the future of Punjab.

Ludhiana, April 2-

National Convener of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called upon the youth of the state to support a decisive war against drug menace until Punjab is made drug free.  

Addressing the gathering before flagging off the awareness march against drugs, the former Chief Minister of Delhi said that the youth has a huge role to play in wiping out the menace of drugs from the state. He said that if this curse is not wiped out then it will transform into a major evil and result in major damage to the state and its generations. Arvind Kejriwal urged the youth to say no to drugs as this menace will ruin their life and that of the family.

The National Convener of AAP said that in Punjab the previous governments had patronized drug cartels in the state and even their top leaders were involved in it. He said that for the sake of minting illegal money these greedy leaders had patronized the drug menace in the state thereby ruining our generations. Arvind Kejriwal said that God and people of the state will never forgive these political leaders for this sin and they will be punished for this misdeed.

The former Delhi Chief Minister said that the state government has done exemplary work in the last 30 days adding that even the huge palaces built from drug money amassed by these smugglers are being destroyed. He said that none of the drug smugglers will be spared and they will be put behind the bars adding that severest of severe action will be taken against them. Arvind Kejriwal said that security agencies are playing a laudable role by cracking down heavily on the drug peddlers by nabbing them and cutting the supply line of drugs.

The National Convener of Aam Aadmi Party further said that properties of the drug peddlers are being confiscated/ demolished to ensure that people involved in this heinous crime get exemplary punishment. Arvind Kejriwal said that the state government has adopted a zero tolerance policy against drugs and a crusade has been launched against this menace. Striking an emotional chord with the youth, he said that if any friend or family member of the youth is taking drugs then it should be reported to authorities for timely prevention.

The former Delhi Chief Minister said that it is imperative to check the spread of drugs amongst the youth and save our future generations. He asked the youth to take the responsibility of their respective village and locality to check the menace of drugs by calling on Whatsapp helpline number 9779100200, to inform about any movement of drug smugglers in their area. Arvind Kejriwal asked the youth to pledge that they will not take drugs, they will not allow anyone to sell drugs and they will support the campaign against drugs.  

The former Chief Minister of Delhi said that in order to treat drug victims, the government is running an OutPatient Opioid Assisted Treatment Program (OOAT) for drug de-addiction services at the OPD level. He said that rehabilitation centres are being established across the state to rehabilitate the drug victims. Arvind Kejriwal said that in order to wean away youth from the menace of drugs, playgrounds and gyms are being opened in every village of the state.

Chandigarh, April 2

Punjab Horticulture Minister Mohinder Bhagat on Tuesday directed senior officers to study the horticulture sector in neighbouring states to adopt best practices for boosting horticulture in Punjab. He was presiding over a meeting in Chandigarh to review various welfare schemes being implemented by the Horticulture Department for the benefit of farmers.

During the meeting, Horticulture Secretary Mohammad Tayyab and Director Shailender Kaur apprised the Minister of the subsidies and incentives being provided to farmers under different schemes. Bhagat emphasized the need for effective execution of these initiatives to maximize their impact.

The Minister also discussed the plantation of fruit trees on Panchayat lands, highlighting the importance of promoting agroforestry to enhance green cover and provide additional income to farmers. He stressed that such efforts would not only benefit farmers economically but also contribute to environmental sustainability. In the meeting, Additional Director Rural Development Sandeep Singh provided details about the availability and utilization of Panchayati lands for these initiatives.Deputy Director Harmail Singh was also present at the meeting.

Recognizing the dedication of officials, Bhagat honored several employees of the department for their excellent work in implementing horticulture schemes. Those awarded include HDO Balwinderjit Kaur, ACFA Gurpreet Kaur, Senior Assistants Sumeet Kapoor and Rajinder Kumar, Steno Navjit Kumar, Clerks Harpreet Singh Rupinderjit Singh and other staff Mahadev Gupta and Tula Ram.

The Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening Punjab’s horticulture sector through progressive policies and innovative strategies.

CHANDIGARH, April 2:

          With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state entered 33rd day, Punjab Police on Wednesday arrested 59 drug smugglers and recovered 1.6 kg heroin and ₹5.53 lakh drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 4765 in just 33 days.

          The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.

          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.

          Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1400 police personnel, under the supervision of 91 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 497 locations across the state leading to the registration of 36 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 546 suspicious persons during the day long operation, he added.

          The Special DGP said that with 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 four persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment.