IEP Chandigarh, October 3

In a bid to provide much needed succour to the sugarcane farmers of the state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced to increase the price of sugarcane to Rs. 380 per quintal from existing Rs. 360 per quintal.

Announcing this on the floor of Punjab Assembly, the Chief Minister said that the farmers will get an additional Rs. 20 per quintal under State Agreed Price (SAP) of sugarcane as compared to last year. He said that this will bring the price of sugarcane to Rs. 380 per quintal from the existing price of Rs.360 per quintal. With this decision, the state government will spend additional Rs. 200 crore annually to benefit the farmers.

Bhagwant Mann said that the farmers of the state eagerly want to adopt sugarcane crop under crop diversification, but they are hesitant for it due to lack of adequate price and timely payment of the crop. At present sugarcane is cultivated on just 1.25 lakh hectares of land in Punjab, while the total crushing capacity of sugar mills was around 2.50 lakh hectares. This is why the state government has decided to enhance the price to supplement the income of farmers.

Informing the house about the present status of the payments, Chief Minister said that the Cooperative Sugar Mills have already paid the entire dues of the farmers but two private sugar mills have not paid the dues yet. He informed that the owners of these mills have fled from the country adding that the state government has already initiated the process to confiscate their assets to pay the pending dues of the farmers.

IEP Chandigarh, October 3:

The Main Branch Lower off taking at Tail of Main Branch Upper (Aliwal Head) and off-taking canals/distributaries/minors of main branch lower system will remain closed up till October 21,2022.

An official spokesperson of Water Resources department informed that in view of the status of crops and weather, Main Branch Lower and its off taking Canals/Distributaries/Minors will remain closed from 01.10.2022 to 21.10.2022 (both days inclusive) for construction work of bridge tapping points at RD 151300.

Vigilance nabs Inspector Legal Metrology taking bribe Rs 9,000 for annual inspection of petrol pump

IEP Chandigarh, October 3

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau during its campaign against corruption on Monday nabbed an Inspector Legal Metrology (Weight and measurements) Kawinder Singh posted at Bathinda red handed accepting a bribe of Rs. 9,000.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) said accused Kawinder Singh has been arrested on the complaint of Kanwar Yadwinder Singh of Bathinda, who is owner of Akal Parivar Petrol Pump, Bathinda.

He informed that the complainant has approached the VB and alleged that the above said Inspector Legal Metrology was demanding Rs. 9,000 as a bribe for making stamping of machines at petrol pump regarding annual weight and measurement inspection. Besides, the accused Inspector has asked the pump employee to fill his vehicle with 15 litres petrol but didn’t paid any amount for the same.

After verifying his information, a VB team laid a trap and the above mentioned accused Inspector was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs. 9,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. He informed that a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at VB, police station Bathinda and further investigation was under progress.

IEP Chandigarh, October 3

Punjab Vidhan Sabha led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday unanimously passed a confidence motion in the favor of the state government during the session of the state assembly.

“Faith of people has won in Punjab and the forces who had tried to purchase the verdict of masses have got a major blow”, said the Chief Minister while winding up debate on the floor of house.

The Chief Minister said that the motion was brought in Vidhan Sabha to show that the state government enjoys the confidence of the people. He said that the passing of this motion has proved that the democracy of the country cannot be purchased by money or muscle power. Bhagwant Mann said that with this historic mandate, the state government will make further strenuous efforts for restoring the pristine glory of the state.

Expressing deep concern over the efforts being made to murder democracy in the country, the Chief Minister said that this is a major threat for country. He said that people have always upheld the democratic values but now the Congress and BJP are trying to derail democracy by grabbing power through the back door. Bhagwant Mann said that these leaders have turned democracy into a game of those having money and muscle power.

The Chief Minister said that the confidence motion in the state assembly has been necessitated as both the parties have joined hands to topple the democratically elected government in the state. He said that BJP is mastering art to form governments in the state through back doors in the country and unfortunately despite being its worst victim the Congress is supporting it. Bhagwant Mann dared the Congress leaders to explain why they have been mum on this anti-democratic move of the saffron party despite the fact their MLAs have been purchased by BJP in many states.

The Chief Minister said that the day is not far when Congress will open offices in the country with the tag ‘MLAs on sale’. He said that this is unfortunate that Congress and BJP have connived with each other to make a mockery of the democratic values. However, Bhagwant Mann categorically said that people are supreme in democracy and they will not tolerate this.

Coming down heavily on Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, the Chief Minister said that it is unfortunate he had become a puppet in the hands of the saffron party. He said that the senior Congress leader will be now known as Partap Singh ‘Bhajpa’ after his dubious role to scuttle democracy in the state has been exposed. Bhagwant Mann said that it is shameful on the part of the senior Congress leader that he is supporting the sinister move of the saffron party. 

The Chief Minister, while training his guns against the former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh for shielding the corrupt, said that the former Chief Minister had joined BJP with few of his accomplices. However, he said that the BJP had closed doors for the diehard supporters of the former Chief Minister due to serious allegations of corruption against them. Bhagwant Mann said that even if BJP is denying entry to these leaders then one can well imagine how much corrupt they would have been.     

The Chief Minister said that the Punjab government is committed to ensuring severest of severe punishment to perpetrators of the Bargari incident. Bhagwant Mann said that he had asked the officers to complete the enquiry into matter at the earliest for nailing the guilty, however affluent he may be. He said that the state government was also making all out efforts on the legal front to ensure that no guilty is spared.

The Chief Minister further said that the state government will make all out efforts to get the Halwara Airport named after legendary martyr Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha. He said that no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause as a tribute to the iconic martyr. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is committed to perpetuating the legacy of these great national leaders.

Reiterating the firm commitment of the state government to ensure smooth and hassle free procurement of paddy in the state, the Chief Minister said that every single grain of the golden harvest of farmers will be purchased. He said that the state government is not leaving any stone unturned for this. Bhagwant Mann said that elaborate arrangements have been made in this regard.

Earlier, Cabinet Minister Anmol Gagan Mann, MLAs Sheetal Angural, Dinesh Chadha, Prof. Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra, Prof. Baljinder Kaur, Rupinder Singh Happy, Tarunpreet Singh Saundh, Jagdeep Goldy Kamboj, Principal Budh Ram, Amritpal Singh Sukhanand, Gurdev Singh Dev Mann, Ajit Pal Singh Kohli, Amolak Singh, Gurpreet Singh Banwali and Manvinder Singh Giaspura also spoke in favor of resolution.

IEPChandigarh, October 3:

In a major releif to the general public of the state, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government has decided to construct five cardiac care centres in Punjab.

Revealing this, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Mr. Chetan Singh Jauramajra said that the process to set up these centres has already been initiated. As the graph of cardiac ailments rising day by day, poor people suffering from cardiac diseases could not afford expensive treatment at the private hospitals as the state government hospitals lacked equivalent facilities. Hence, to safeguard the health of the poor people and to save them from exorbitant charges at private hospitals, state government through Punjab Health Systems Corporation was setting up five Cardiac Care Centres at Bathinda, Sangrur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Pathankot, he added.

The Cabinet Minister said that these centres will be equipped with ultra modern healthcare facilities and shall have experienced doctors and supporting staff, however, the services shall be provided to the patients on discounted rates. For two Centres i.e. Bathinda and Sangrur, the Project is near the process of awarding of the contract. However, for rest three Centres i.e. Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Pathankot, the bidding process has been initiated and shall be closed soon.

He further said that he hopes that these cardiac care centres will prove to be an important step towards making secondary and tertiary healthcare in common people’s reach and such people will not have to spend their life’s savings on treatment.

The project shall be developed on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, wherein the Private Player shall be required to construct the Cardiac Care Centres at each of the 5 (five) District Hospitals and thereupon, operate and maintain for a pre-determined Contract Period.

IEPChandigarh, October 3

In the ongoing 36th National Games at Gujarat today, players from Punjab won three gold, one silver and three bronze medals, besides an athlete creating a new record at National Games record by an athlete from Punjab. Punjab has won a total of 38 medals, so far, with 11 gold, 14 silver and 13 bronze medals.

Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer while congratulating the winning players said that these players have brought laurels to the state on the national stage with their dedication and hard work.

In today’s events, Punjab’s Kirpal Singh Batth won the gold medal in the men’s discus throw. He broke Shakti Singh’s 25-year-old National Games record with a throw of 59.32 Mtr. Punjab’s Sift Kaur Samra won gold and another Punjab player Anjum Maudgil won bronze in the women’s 50m rifle three positions. Vijayveer Singh Sidhu and Harnavdeep Kaur won the gold medal in the air pistol mixed team event.

In the rowing team competition, the Punjab team of Bhagwan Singh, Jaspreet Bija, Arvinder Singh and Sukhjinder Singh won the silver medal. Apart from this, the team of Udaiveer Singh, Parveer Singh and Nekpreet Singh won the bronze medal in the fencing team competition. The Punjab team also won the bronze medal in basketball 3X3.

In women’s hockey pool matches, Punjab defeated Madhya Pradesh by 2-1. Earlier Punjab defeated Karnataka by 6-1 yesterday.

IEP Chandigarh, October 3, 2022

Kultar Singh Sandhwan said here today that school students will be regularly  invited to Vidhan Sabha sessions to broaden their horizons and show them the functioning of the government. He was addressing a group of students, specially invited  by him  to attend the session.  

He advised the students to work hard and adopt high moral values, and said that fom the next legislative session, more and more students will be shown the proceedings of the House 

Sandhwan said that the future of the country is in the hands of the students. They should work hard with strong commitment and dedication so that the nation could be built in a better way. He said that the future of the nation would be completely secure if the students will be more disciplined and have high moral values.

S. Sandhwan emphasized the need for educational tours for students so that they can obtain knowledge more effectively. He said that educational tours tend to increase the knowledge of students. Therefore, this should be an integral part of a student’s education.  He said that from the next legislative session, more and more students will be shown the proceedings of the House

Lunch was also hosted by the Speaker for the students. S. Sandhwan’s wife Mrs. Gurpreet Kaur Sandhwan had lunch with the students and interacted with them. She asked the students to study with determination. Meanwhile, the students watched the proceedings of the House with great interest and enthusiasm.They looked completely happy during this time.

Meanwhile, the mother Mrs Gurmel Kaur and wife Mrs Gurpreet Kaur Sandhwan of the Vidhan Sabha Speaker also witnessed the assembly proceedings.