Category Archives: Chandigarh

PUNJAB POLICE’S AGTF ARRESTS LUDHIANA GYM OWNER AND TWO OTHERS FOR FACILITATING GANGSTER TINU’S ESCAPE FROM POLICE CUSTODY

IEP CHANDIGARH, October 11      

     Amidst the ongoing investigations, Punjab Police on Tuesday has arrested three persons involved in facilitating the escape of Gangster Deepak Tinu from police custody in Mansa. The Police have also recovered a Black Skoda car bearing registration number PB11CJ1563, which was used in the crime, from their possession.          Those arrested have been identified as Kuldeep Singh alias Kohli, Rajveer Singh alias Kazama and Rajinder Singh alias Gora, all resident of Ludhiana. Kuldeep Kohli is a gym owner and was into the business of drugs under the garb of running a gym.          Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that an ongoing investigation revealed that the trio accused persons were close associates of Tinu and they had helped Tinu escape from police custody, following which the Anti Gangster Task Force(AGTF) and Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Punjab Police have arrested them from Ludhiana.          He said that the investigations revealed that on October 1, Deepak Tinu had directed Kohli, to send a woman associate, who helped in Tinu’s escape along with his allies at CIA Mansa. Rajveer Singh along with his accomplice identified as Gagandeep Khaira of Ludhiana picked a woman accomplice from Zirakpur and dropped her near CIA Mansa along with a bag of clothes provided by Kohli, he said, adding that the Police teams are on a manhunt to nab Gagandeep.          The DGP said that accused Kuldeep Kohli has remained associated with Deepak Tinu for the last two years, when they both were lodged in Kapurthala Jail. Kohli was released on bail in the year 2021, following which he along with Tinu’s other Haryana-based associates indulged in cross-border drug smuggling, he said.          Meanwhile, the four-member SIT headed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Patiala range MS Chhina is conducting a day-to-day investigation into this case and all the culprits involved in this crime will be arrested soon. 

Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains confers Swachh Vidyala awards to distinguished schools

IEP SAS Nagar, October 11

Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Tuesday gave away Prizes and Certificates of Appreciation to those schools who topped in various categories of Swachh Vidyala Awards of session 2021-22 during a function organized at the head office.

Appreciating the work of principals and teachers of the concerned schools, the Education Minister said that these teachers and their teams brought laurels for the state with their constructive approach. He also urged these teachers of the winning schools to play vanguard role to improve the situation of sanitation in nearby schools so that more schools can get this national distinction next year.

Notably, Government of India has selected these schools in various categories on sanitation parameters under the Swachh Bharat Campaign. The selected schools included government and private ones. In the overall category of elementary schools in selected rural areas included Government Middle School Kingra (Faridkot), Government Primary School Inderpura (Patiala), Government Primary School Suhali (SAS Nagar), Government Primary School Fatehpur (SAS Nagar), Government Primary School Mukandpur (SBS Nagar) and Government Primary School Katarian (SBS Nagar).

However, the overall category of elementary schools in urban areas included Government Primary School Sheikhupur (Kapurthala), Golden Era Millennium School Mandi Killianwali (Sri Muktsar Sahib), Government Primary School Chohak Kalan (Jalandhar) and Government Primary School Sensi Wehra Amloh (Fatehgarh Sahib).

Similarly, DAV International School Verka Chowk (Amritsar), Government Senior Secondary School Bhawanipur (Kapurthala), Government Senior Secondary School Pakki Tibbi (Sri Muktsar Sahib), Pioneer Convent School Gurmukh Nagar (Malerkotla), The Town School (Malerkotla) and K.V. Barnala was given the Swachh Vidyala were awarded in overall category of secondary schools of rural areas.

While Government Senior Secondary School Model Town Patiala, SGRM Government Girls Senior Secondary School Zira (Ferozepur), B.V.M. Kichlu Nagar Ludhiana and Government Senior Secondary School Boys Amloh (Fatehgarh Sahib) were felicitated with the Swachh Vidyala award under overall category of secondary schools of urban areas.

Apart from this, six schools were also awarded under various sub-categories. These schools included Government Middle School Kingra for Capacity Building and Behaviour Change, Sacred Heart School Dosanjh Road Moga for preparedness and response to cope with Covid-19 pandemic, Sita Grammar School Malerkotla for hand washing hygiene, SGRM Government Girls Senior Secondary School m Zira (Ferozepur) for maintaining good environment and better water supply and efficient use, Government Middle School Kingra (Faridkot) for better hygiene in toilets.

During the award ceremony Director General School Education Pradeep Kumar Agarwal, DPI Secondary Education Kuljit Pal Singh Mahi, Director SCERT Dr. Maninder Singh Sarkaria, Deputy SPD and State Nodal Officer Swachh Vidyala Campaign Gurjit Singh and other concerned officials were present.

PGI amputee clinic, starting from February 2021 evolved into something bigger than just a support system for the amputees inside the hospital with 300 already registered

IEP Chandigarh

Initially conceptualized as a group of medical personnel to support the surgeon while the amputee is going through his rehabilitation process, this group has now expanded to include people from all walks of society who have chipped in to help in the rehabilitation of these disabled people. The function today Is to honour this group of people who have given their time, their Money and goodwill to help support the rehabilitation of amputees. There are many more waiting to pitch in and we are grateful to all. A foundation has been registered  Amputee support Foundation, with a section called VASS, named after the mythological warrior queen Vispala who fought with a metal limb. Vispala Apang Sahayata Samooh is focused just on the amputee rehabilitation aspect. There is planned to be a Next step also; the aim of This group and the amputee support foundation is to properly rehabilitate these persons. Many philanthropists have offered jobs to these people and one of our aims is to match amputees to available jobs in the future. Some industrialists have offered to modify assembly lines to ensure that amputees can work there; some have offered jobs like gatekeepers and gardeners and such like. Many thoughts are being generated and the aim of the newly made foundation is to empower these people in their own right An expansion beyond PGI has been conceptualized GMSH SEctor 16 and GMCH Sector 32 have amputees too and these philanthropists are willing to take them on in the mission to rehabilitate them Representatives from both these hospitals have joined this initiative. We also welcome the most celebrated amputee in India Major D P Singh. Speaking at the function Major Singh spoke out about How an am Putti with motivation could come back almost from death to becoming one of the leading athletes in the country Major Singh extolled the virtues of resolve and dedication to self so that the amputees could be motivated.Many of the philanthropists present promised significant contributions to improve the app Putti clinic .A contribution of 10 lakhs was given on the spot by Kandhari beverages. Mr Vikram Sahgal of micron industries said that an NGO would be formed within the next few weeks which would give dedicated support to all people with artificial limbs including sponsoring them and the industry for jobs The director PGI Dr Vivek Lal praised the dedication of the team of doctors and paramedical personnel led by Dr Dhillon and he said that this could be one of the biggest achievements of PGI in the recent past. He promised full support to the clinic and the doctors from neighbouring hospitals said that they would welcome the support given to their institutes by the PGI amputee support clinic

VIGILANCE BUREAU NABS SENIOR POLICE CONSTABLE RED HANDED ACCEPTING BRIBE RS 5,000

IEP Chandigarh October 11

Aiming to eradicate corruption in the state the Punjab Vigilance Bureau during its ongoing campaign on Tuesday nabbed Senior Constable Bikram Singh posted at police post, civil hospital Bathinda city for taking bribe of Rs 5,000.

          Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) said the accused Bikram Singh has been arrested on the complaint of Kulwinder Singh resident of Nachhattar Nagar, Bathinda city.

          He further informed that the complainant has approached the VB and alleged that he has a quarrel with some passengers who were travelling in his vehicle from village Jhumba to Chintpurni. The above said Constable was demanding Rs 5,000 from him to settle a compromise.

          After verification of the facts and information in the complaint, a VB team from Bathinda unit laid a trap and the Constable Bikram Singh was arrested while taking bribe of Rs 5,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

          In this regard a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused police official at VB police station Bathinda and further investigation is under progress.

No need for citizens to fill forms for availing services at Sewa Kendras: Meet Hayer

IEP SAS Nagar, October 11

In order to reform government procedures that impact the common man,  a landmark decision of the Bhagwant Mann  government became a reality with the discontinuation of physical filling of application forms and submission at Sewa Kendras.
Today Governance Reforms Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer made surprise visit at the Sewa Kendra situated at District Administrative Complex, SAS Nagar, checked working of Sewa Kendra and interacted with citizen to know about the issues.
The Minister asked service Operator (M/s DSSPL) to increase the quality of service delivery and ensure that every citizen is being dealt with utmost priority and provide services without any hassles. Further, the minister also launched a new concept with name of form less services by starting 6 services in phase 1.
Disclosing more about the new initiative Meet Hayer said that in this reform now citizen can avail the services e.g. Income Certificate, Rural area certificate, Addition of name in birth certificate, Income and Asset Certificate, General Caste Certificate & Senior Citizen ID Card without filling the physical form.
To avail these services, citizen has to visit Sewa Kendra with only original Proof of Identify & Proof of Address (already notified by Punjab Government) along with the service specific documents e.g. Self Declaration form.
On the basis of citizen’s documents Sewa Kendra operator shall apply the service by filling the online form and getting the citizen’s signature on the system generated form.
Above reform will reduce 4 steps (e.g. Form procurement, Form Filling, Document Photo Copy attachment and Form checking) from 7 steps to 3 to avail the services. In subsequent features more services will be added in form less service gamut.
With the launch of form less services and acceptance of digitally signed certificates on mobile phone, citizen visits to collect the certificates shall be reduced significantly along with time take taken to fill the applications forms or file making.
The minister also interacted with the citizens who obtained certificates on their mobile phones/SMS. Recently an initiative of doing away holograms and physical signature was announced by the Minister Governance Reforms for which  notification was issued by governance reforms department. This has been implemented across the state. The citizens expressed their satisfaction & delight to obtain certificates on mobile phones.
Prominent among others who were present at the occasion included Director Governance Reforms Girish Dayalan, Deputy Commissioner SAS Nagar
Amit Talwar, ADC Amaninder Kaur Brar, SDM Mohali Sarbjit Kaur, DeGC Mohali Kuldeep Singh, Vice President Dr. IT Diljit Singh and District Manager Sewa Kendra Amandeep Singh.

CHIEF SECRETARY HOLDS REVIEW MEETING WITH TOP OFFICIALS AND DCS ON STUBBLE MANAGEMENT

IEP Chandigarh, October 10

          Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua held a review meeting with Punjab top officials and all deputy commissioners of the state on stubble management and further reduce the stubble burning cases.

He said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is making concrete efforts to make farmers aware and to achieve this purpose, the concerned officials of the districts should intensify their campaign to ensure minimal cases of stubble fire across the state.

          Earlier, on September 22, the Chief Secretary also held a meeting and during this time, the Chief Secretary took the progress report from the Deputy Commissioner on stubble management in each district. He said that this time DCs should speed up in their respective districts to stop the incidents of stubble burning in Punjab by all means. He said that the farmers should be given maximum assistance to purchase Happy Seeder and other such tools/machines to prevent stubble burning.

          The Chief Secretary said that the Punjab government is assiduously  working on the management of stubble instead of burning it to protect the environment, especially the air and soil. He said that the farmers should be explained about the damage caused by stubble burning. He said that from mid-October to mid-November, the level of air pollution increases every year due to stubble burning, which has a very negative impact on people’s health, especially children and the elderly. Therefore, farmers should be made aware of stubble management instead of burning it.

          The chief secretary was informed that due to the awareness of the state government about not burning stubble and the damage caused by it, there is a possibility of a big reduction in stubble burning incidents this year. The Chief Secretary said that more awareness should be spread among the farmers by making announcements through different mediums especially religious places and through NGOs. He said that the farmers should be made aware that stubble and paddy burning has a lot of damage at the personal and social level.

          The Chief Secretary said that in the villages where  cases of stubble burning reported in the past, the administration has been more vigilant. He said that the farmers should also be made aware through the children studying in schools that burning the stubble will give the children a ‘deleterious and polluted’ future. The Chief Secretary instructed the Deputy Commissioners that this year the cases of stubble burning should be stopped at all costs and negligence in this regard will not be tolerated.

VIGILANCE ARRESTS JAIL WARDER, PRIVATE BUS HAWKER ABSCONDING IN CORRUPTION CASES

IEP Chandigarh, October 10

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Monday arrested Jail Warder Harpreet Singh (No. 4611) posted at Central Jail Amritsar, who was on the run in a bribery case. He had taken a bribe of Rs 8,000 from an inmate Gursewak Singh lodged in the said jail by threatening to file a case against him after recovery of a mobile phone from him.

In a separate case, accused Jasbir Singh, of village Kureshia, district Jalandhar has also been arrested who was a private bus hawker at Bus Stand Jalandhar. He was absconding in a bribery case for collecting bribes from the private bus owners for changing departure times of government buses from bus stand in connivance with Punjab Roadways employees to give advantages to private buses.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) said the accused Jail Warder Harpreet Singh, a resident of village Vairowal Darapur, district Tarn Taran, took a bribe of Rs. 8000 from an inmate Gursewak Singh. In this regard, a case had already been registered against him at police station Islamabad, Amritsar under section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act and under section 42, 52-A of Jail Act vide FIR No. 152, dated 07-04-2022 but this case was transferred to the VB as it involved provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. After the arrest of the above said accused, further investigation is going on.

He further informed that VB had registered a corruption case in which some employees of Punjab Roadways and private individuals were accused of taking bribes daily/monthly basis by changing the departure timings of government buses from the bus stand to benefit private buses. In this regard, the Bureau had already registered a case vide FIR No. 05, dated 30.04.2021 under section 7, 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 120-B of IPC at VB police station Amritsar. He said that in this case the absconding accused Jasbir Singh has been arrested from Jalandhar bus stand and further investigation is under progress.

CM GIVES NOD FOR HIKE IN MINIMUM WAGES OF THE LABOUR AND CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

IEP Chandigarh, October 10

          In a Diwali gift to the construction and unskilled Labours, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today approved hike in minimum wages of these workers.

          A decision to this effect was taken by the Chief Minister while chairing a review meeting of Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board,here at his office.

          Taking part in meeting, the Chief Minister said that the minimum wages of unskilled workers have been hiked to Rs 9907 from existing Rs 9192 whereas that of semi skilled have been enhanced to Rs 10687 from Rs 9972. Likewise, he said that wages of skilled workers have been increased to Rs 11584 from Rs 10869 and that of highly skilled workers have been hiked to Rs 12616 from Rs 11901. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is committed for well being of every strata of society.

          In another significant decision, the Chief Minister also gave a nod for embarking major drive to register workers with the board. He said that currently 5.30 lakh workers have been registered with the board which needs to be enhanced upto minimum15 lakh. Bhagwant Mann asked the board to intensify the campaign by sending teams in villages, towns, labour chowks and construction sites.  

          Taking a leap forward towards smart governance by the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Chief Minister also launched a new mobile app named ‘Punjab Kirti Sahayak app’ for facilitating the Labour and Construction Workers to get all their details on a single click.

          The Chief Minister said that this app will revolutionize the working mechanism of the board by helping in ensuring greater efficiency in the registration of construction workers as well as by offering them benefits under the various schemes run by the Board. Bhagwant Mann said that the construction workers may now register with the Board, from anywhere and anytime.

          The Chief Minister further said that the app is bilingual (both in English and Punjabi), hence Punjabi construction workers will not face any language constraints as the App is quite user-friendly. He said that apart from registering themselves with the Board and applying for various welfare schemes, the applicants may also apply for registration renewals, can track the status of their applications and may also remove deficiencies in the required documents and that too quite swiftly. Bhagwant Mann said that the app can be downloaded from the Google Play/App store.

          The Chief Minister also approved the conversion of Skill Development Centers into transit accommodation for construction workers. He said that the benefits of several pro-people welfare schemes will also be extended to the workers. It is worth mentioning that the Board is offering 17 welfare schemes to the construction workers

CM REVIEWS ARRANGEMENT FOR G-20 SUMMIT SLATED TO BE HELD AT HOLY CITY AMRITSAR IN MARCH 2023

IEP Chandigarh, October 10        

   Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday reviewed the arrangements for the prestigious G-20 summit slated to be held at holy city Amritsar in March 2023.Chairing a meeting in this regard here at his office in Punjab Civil Secretariat, the Chief Minister said that this summit will take place in the month of March and leading countries of the world will be participating. He asserted that the state is fortunate to have got the opportunity to host this mega event in which deliberations will be held on Education by the leading countries from across the world. Bhagwant Mann said that elaborate arrangements have to be put in place for making this global event a huge success.The Chief Minister said that for making this event a huge success the entire holy city will be divided into five major sectors. He said that senior officers of the state Civil and Police administration will be deployed in these sectors for effective management. Bhagwant Mann said that these officers will be responsible for the smooth conduct of the entire activity during the summit in the area under their jurisdiction.The Chief Minister also constituted a Cabinet Sub Committee comprising Local Government Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjer, Public Works Department Harbhajan Singh ETO, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and Tourism Minister Anmol Gagan Mann. He said that the Cabinet Sub Committee will monitor the day to day arrangements of the event to ensure its flawless execution. Bhagwant Mann also constituted a high powered committee headed by Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua to facilitate the Cabinet Sub Committee in smooth and hassle free conduct of the mega event.

VIGILANCE ARRESTS ASSISTANT REGISTRAR OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES RED-HANDED TAKING BRIBE RS. 20,000

IEP Chandigarh October 10

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Monday arrested Davinder Kumar, Assistant Registrar, Co-operative and Marketing Societies, block Dasuha, District Hoshiarpur red-handed for accepting a bribe of Rs.20,000.

           Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) informed that the above said accused Davinder Kumar has been arrested on the complaint of complainant Tajinder Singh of village Bercha, district Hoshiarpur, who has been employed as Manager in Cooperative Society Tanda, Hoshiarpur. The accused has been supervising 70 Cooperative Societies in block Dasuha including the above said at Tanda,

        He added that the complainant has approached the VB and alleged that during his posting as Manager, Co-operative Society, Tanda, then Davinder Kumar, Assistant Registrar, Co-operative and Marketing Societies block Dasuha, now holding Additional Charge as Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, district Hoshiarpur had filed a case of an embezzlement against him. On his appeal against this case, the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Punjab, Chandigarh had decided in his favour.

          The complainant further informed to the VB that the said accused Devinder Kumar, did not allowed him to join on duty but opened another investigation against him regarding recovery of funds.

          The complainant further informed that the above said accused Davinder Kumar had already taken Rs 5,000 as a bribe from the him and demanding Rs 50,000 more in lieu of favouring him in the present case.

          After probing the allegations submitted by the complainant, the VB has arrested the accused for accepting a bribe of Rs. 20,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. In this regard, FIR No. 20 dated 10-10-2022 under Section 7 Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at VB police station Jalandhar. Further investigation in this case is under progress.