IEP Chandigarh, September 28

 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today urged the Government of India to start more international flights from Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport to facilitate the Punjabi diaspora across the globe. The Chief Minister, while addressing a function to rename the airport here today, urged the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to flag this issue with the Prime Minister and her counterpart in Civil Aviation. He said that today is the 115th birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and this day has been made memorable with the decision to name airport after the legendary martyr. Bhagwant Mann said that the Union government must start more flights from this airport. The Chief Minister said that Punjab Diaspora from across the globe has been demanding such  flights to ensure air connectivity from the state to Canada, America, Australia and other parts of the world. He said that besides commuters from Punjab these flights will also benefit the commuters from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu-Kashmir and other states. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government has made concerted efforts for renaming this airport after name of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The Chief Minister profusely thanked the Union government for naming the airport after Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. Bhagwant Mann said that a long lending demand of the entire country has been filled adding that heart of every Countryman is filled with joy. Paying floral tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, he said that the young martyr is remembered not only for his heroism but also for his philosophy of socialism and fight against injustice. The Chief Minister said that the life and philosophy of young martyr will always inspire the young generations to serve the country with patriotic zeal. He said that today is a red letter day in history of state as this airport has been named after the great son of soil. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is making concerted efforts for realising the dream of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and no stone is being left unturned for this noble cause. Earlier, Union Finance Minister accompanied by Governor Punjab Banwari Lal Purohit, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Union Minister General (Retired) VK Singh, Member Parliament Kirron Kher, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and Haryana Minister Anil Vij unveiled the plaque to name the airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

IEP Chandigarh, September 28

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday made an important announcement on the occasion of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh’s birth Anniversary. The Chief Minister announced that the Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Award, which has been suspended for the past several years, would be revived. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the Youth Services Department has invited applications from the youth of the state for the award.

Punjab Sports and Youth Services Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hare while thanking the Chief Minister for this decision on the occasion of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s birth Anniversary, said that to make the youth a partner in the development of the state and to empower them, it has been announced to restart this award, which has been suspended for many years. The State Government is making continuous efforts to take forward the thought of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and prepare the youth for the leadership of the state, as a result of which this big decision has been taken.

Divulging the details, Meet Hayer further said that eligible youth for the award can apply to the Department of Youth Services till November 30. After this, the department will scrutinize them and select 2 youths between the age of 15 to 35 years from each district. A total of 46 youth from the state will be given this award. In this award, a cash amount of Rs. 51,000, a medal, a scroll, a blazer and a certificate will be awarded. The youth will be given this award on the occasion of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s Martyrdom Day, March 23.

The Youth Services Minister further informed that Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh State Youth Award was started in 1985 but this award was lying dormant since many years. For this award youth welfare activities, NCC, NSS, social services, cultural activities, sports, tracking, national unity, blood donation, awareness against drugs, scholastic merit, heroic deeds, scouts and guides activities would be the criterion. And this award will be given by selecting the youth according to their merit from amongst the youth participating in adventure activities.

IEP Chandigarh, September 28

The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) and the State Government will be organizing Akhand Path Sahib at Gurdwara Sri Nada Sahib on October 7 to thank the Almighty after the Supreme Court announced its verdict to uphold the validity of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014. On this occasion, HSGPC and Sikh Sangat will also felicitate Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal.

Meanwhile, a meeting of HSGPC under the Chairmanship of MP, Karnal, Sh. Sanjay Bhatia was held at Chandigarh Haryana Niwas.

After the meeting, the Committee members also expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister, who while respecting the sentiments of the Sikhs, strongly defended the formation of a separate Gurdwara managing committee for Haryana in the Supreme Court.

The members said that Akhand Path Sahib will be held at Nada Sahib on October 7 and Bhog ceremony will be held on October 9.  Sikh Sangat from across the state will attend the Path.

The Chief Minister said that the State Government is continuously working for the interests of the Sikhs. 

“After the decision of the Supreme Court, now all 52 Gurdwara Sahibs of Haryana will do social service work under the supervision of HSGPC. I am hopeful that the entire Sikh Sangat will now work in the spirit of harmony and brotherhood and will do its best for the interest of society,” added Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister also assured that as per their expectation, Sikh Sangat will be given complete support from the state government and together they will work for the betterment of society.

Notably, Haryana Government, while respecting the sentiments of the Sikhs, strongly defended the formation of a separate Gurdwara managing committee for Haryana in the Supreme Court. As a result of which the Supreme Court announced its verdict in favour of the Sikh Sangat of Haryana.

After this verdict was announced Sh. Manohar Lal visited the main Gurdwaras across the state to offer prayers and took the blessings of Guru Sahib.  

The Chief Minister paid obeisance at Gurdwara Sri Nada Sahib, Gurdwara Sri Manji Sahib at old Sarafa Bazaar, Karnal and Gurdwara Sahib Pehli Patshahi in Panipat and Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahib in Rohtak.

IEP Chandigarh September 28

Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, Chandigarh organised an Interactive Session on Youth and Cyber Security. Sh Ketan Bansal, Superintendent of Police, Incharge, Operations and Cyber Crime Branch, Chandigarh was the Chief Guest for the event. Ms Palak Goel, Dy Superintendent of Police, Sub- divisional Police Officer was the resource person. Through her insightful session on Women safety and Cyber Security, she highlighted various ways to handle vulnerable situations related to women and youth.

 SWAYAM Group of Chandigarh Police demonstrated various self-defence techniques. This was followed by Cyber Interns presentation on how to avoid and protect oneself from cyber harassments and other kinds of Cyber Crimes.

Students were briefed regarding importance of non violence in election process as well and it was highlighted that competitive environment of elections shouldn’t lead to any smearing campaign on internet or otherwise.

IEP Chandigarh, September 27

Haryana State Vigilance Bureau has caught an Assistant Sub Inspector of Haryana Police and a Surveyor of Haryana Khadi and Village Industries Board red-handed while accepting bribes worth Rs 6,000 and Rs 14,000 respectively. Both officials have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

                    Sharing the information here today, the spokesperson of the Bureau said that in the first case, Police ASI Jai Bhagwan posted in City Police Station Pehowa (Kurukshetra) had been arrested red-handed accepting Rs 6,000 bribe. The accused was demanding illegal gratification to close a complaint registered against the complainant, a resident of Cheeka. Accused had already taken Rs 9,000 from the complainant.

                    In another case, Surveyor Subhash Saini of Haryana Khadi and Village Industries Board, Bhiwani has been caught red-handed taking Rs 14,000 bribe from complainant, a resident of village Simli Bass, Tosham, Bhiwani. The accused was demanding illegal gratification in lieu of releasing subsidy under a government scheme.

                    Cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act have been registered against them and further investigation is underway.

IEP Chandigarh September 27

Member of the Congress Working Committee and former Union Minister Kumari Selja said that the anti-youth BJP-JJP alliance government was following the policy of ending employment opportunities in the state. Instead of filling the vacant posts, they were being ended. HSSC should be dissolved for not rolling out any recruitment from February 2021 till now. The government should issue a white paper regarding the vacant posts in the state and tell how many jobs had been given and how many posts were lying vacant.

 In a statement issued to the media, Kumari Selja said that according to the report of CMIE, Haryana had the highest unemployment rate in the country. Despite this, the state government had directly cut 13462 posts in the new fixation of posts and froze about 25000 posts. Government data showed that there were 4.58 lakh posts of government jobs in the state, which had been reduced to 4.45 lakh, she added.

 The former Union Minister said that in 1980s the population of the state was 1.25 crore and there were 4.50 lakh posts of government employees. Now, the population had increased to around 3 crore, so the number of personnel should have been more than 10 lakhs. On the contrary, instead of increasing, the positions were being decreased due to which the work load on the employees was increasing and they were getting mentally disturbed.

Kumari Selja said that how ironic it was that 41 percent posts of personnel in government departments were lying vacant. In the year 2022, the recruitment process of only 6010 posts had so far been completed. HSSC had not rolled out a single recruitment since February 2021, while 182497 posts were lying vacant. She said that most of the posts were lying vacant in departments such as Police, Public Health, Education, Transport, Animal Husbandry, Irrigation, Health and Panchayat which were directly linked with the common people. 

Kumari Selja said that 11.36 lakh youth had applied for CET of Group C and D and the state government had not been able to conduct the examination for a long time. Apart from this, the validity of the certificate of HTET pass youth was about to expire and the alliance government had not rolled out any recruitment for them. In such a situation, the validity of their certificate should be extended, added Kumari Selja.

IEP Chandigarh September 27

“God has a purpose for your life. I think my wife Jaspal Kaur was sent into this world by the Higher Power to save the lives of others. So I wanted to make sure through organ donation that her ‘spirit of giving’ continues and becomes her lasting legacy,” stated the bereaved but brave heart husband Gurdeep Singh Deepa as he consented for Organ Donation of his brain dead wife last week here at PGIMER.  

A picture of composure and poise himself, despite being faced with the unimaginable loss, Gurdeep Singh Deepa turned his grim tragedy into a triumph for two terminally ill renal failure patients and one terminally ill liver failure patient with his generous gesture of Organ Donation.  

Expressing his gratitude to the donor family of Jaspal Kaur for their generous act, Prof. Vivek Lal, Director PGIMER stated, “There can’t be anything more heroic than saving a life and that too, when confronted with the darkest tragedy of one’s life. The family of Jaspal Kaur from Sangrur showcased this rare and exemplary heroism on her passing away here in PGIMER and turned her a saviour by kindling hope for three patients, struggling for life and desperately seeking organs.

Jaspal Kaur, 50, a resident of Village Kheri, distt. Sangrur, while going on a two wheeler was hit by another four wheeler, leaving her with severe head injury. She was immediately admitted to a nearby Civil Hospital, Sangrur on 18^th September. From there, she was first referred to Rajendra Hospital Patiala and then shifted to PGIMER.The prognosis being poor, Jaspal Kaur could not be revived despite best of the efforts and became brain dead on 21^st September.    

Following the family’s consent, Jaspal Kaur’s kidneys were retrieved and transplanted to two terminally ill patients suffering from renal ailment and the retrieved liver was transplanted to a matching recipient here at PGIMER.

Prof. Vipin Koushal, Nodal Officer, ROTTO PGIMER detailing this cadaver donation experience stated, “There are lakhs of people who wait at hospitals for life-saving transplants amid acute shortage of donors. So the selfless gestures of families like those of donor Jaspal Kaur are beyond any appreciation. There is a need to spread awareness about organ donation and bridge certain gaps. Even if a section of individuals decide to donate his or her organs, it will bring a huge change.”

IEP Chandigarh, September 26     

     As part of the initiatives being taken by the Higher Education Department to provide better sports facilities in the government colleges of the state, administrative approval has been given for Rs 137 lakh grant to 7 government colleges for the construction of sports structures.          Giving this information, Higher Education Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will leave no stone unturned to create a sports-friendly environment.          Meet Hayer, who also holds the sports department, said that the state government is emphasizing on the creation of sports infrastructure at the grassroots level and according to the number of students of the respective sports in the government colleges, the sports grounds are being prepared there. He said that in the coming time other government colleges will also be given funds for sports to develop new grounds and upgrade existing infrastructures.          Divulging the details of the amount sanctioned to 7 government colleges, the Minister of Higher Education said that Rs.19.41 lakh for 200 meter track and volleyball ground to Government College Danewala Malout, Rs.15.75 lakh to Government College Gurdaspur for the basketball court, Rs 33.11 lakh to Government College Ladhupur (Gurdaspur) for 200 meter track, basketball court and volleyball ground. Similarly, Rs 19.40 lakh for 200 meter track and volleyball ground to Government College Husnar Giddarbaha and funds of Rs 10.85 lakh for LED lights in the volleyball court at S.C.D Government College Ludhiana, Rs.8.48 lakhs for the basketball court of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Government College Tarn Taran and Rs.29.99 lakhs for the renovation of volleyball ground and stadium of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Government College Kotakpura.          The Minister said that instructions have also been given to cornered officials to ensure utilisation of these funds only for allocated works. The technical approval of the estimate should be taken from the competent authority before starting the work. Similarly the responsibility for quality/standard of work will be on XEN.          Before this, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary Jaspreet Talwar under the direction of Higher Education Minister Meet Hayer. In the meeting, DPI (Colleges) Rajiv Gupta said that estimates have been prepared and sent by the said seven government colleges from the Public Works Department. These seven colleges have now been given administrative approval of 137 lakh rupees by the Minister of Higher Education. Principals of other government colleges have been asked to prepare and send estimates from the Public Works Department so that they can also be released money for the construction of sports grounds, the minister added

IEP Chandigarh, September 26

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Monday has arrested an absconding accused Satish Jha, resident of village Chak Hakeem, Phagwara on charges of defrauding the Punjab Gramin Bank, Phagwara, by taking a loan of Rs. 25 lakh on the basis of forged documents.

          Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) said in this regard a case on the basis of a Vigilance Enquiry, had already been registered under FIR No. 11, dated 31-08-2020 under sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of IPC. and under section 13 (1) (a) (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at VB police station Jalandhar. He informed that the above said accused had got sanctioned this huge loan in connivance with bank manager Harbhajan Singh Kapoor and bank panel valuer Satish Kumar Sharma.

          He further informed that there are total 16 accused in the above said case, out of which six accused – Raj Kumar resident of Thatthiala Mohalla, Phagwara, Valuer Satish Kumar Sharma, Subhash Kumar resident of Mahindwani, District Hoshiarpur, Avtar Singh resident of Asha Park Colony, Phagwara, Pankaj resident of Mohalla Ratanpura , Phagwara and Rajesh Kumar resident of Mohalla Ratanpura, Phagwara had already been arrested. The Vigilance Bureau is on the lookout for the arrest of the remaining accused, who will be arrested soon, he said.

          Giving more details of this case, he said during the investigation by Vigilance, it was found that a residential colony named Bhai Ghanaiya Enclave had been built in the total area of 35 kanal 03 marlas of village Chak Hakeem in Phagwara. Sukhwinder Kaur Atwal and Maninder Kaur Atwal, who have equal ownership of 8 kanal 15 marla of the area of the said Khasra numbers of this colony, had given two separate power of attorneys to Gurcharan Singh Atwal, resident of village Anokhwaal, for the maintenance and sale of their land. He had further appointed Raj Kumar, resident of Thatthiara Mohalla, Phagwara as power of attorney.

          The spokesperson informed that according to Raj Kumar, during the year 2009-10, he was working privately with the said Avtar Singh Phagwara, then this document was registered in his name with the help of his owner, Avtar Singh. The later was also an acquaintance of Gurcharan Singh Atwal.

          In the Bhai Ghanaiya Enclave Colony about 101 marla area of land was sold as separate plots but about 74 marla area was remaining as balance for roads and streets. This area of land was still in the revenue records listed in the name of above said Raj Kumar (Mukhtiare Khas) and its owner, Avtar Singh Phagwara. The duo with the intention of committing fraud, sold this area (74 marlas) as small plots in the said Colony with on the basis of Fard Jamabandi received from revenue officials. They had wrote the sale contracts in the names of Avtar Singh, Pradeep Kumar, Pankaj Kumar and others who later gave the written contracts in their favor to the manager Harbhajan Singh Kapur at the said Punjab Grameen Bank and to the valuer Satish Kumar Sharma.

          All these accused persons in connivance with bank manager and valuer, managed to got sanctioned loans amounting to lakhs of rupees on the basis of such Fards from the said bank in the name of construction of new houses whereas no house could be constructed on the said land. All the accused without constructing any houses, got pictured clicked by standing in front of the houses of the people living in other colonies coming up in village Chak Hakeem. By doing this, they had falsely mortgaged houses belonging to other peoples, he said.

          During the investigation it has came to light that in all this fraud, bank manager Harbhajan Singh Kapoor and valuer Satish Kumar Sharma misused their official positions and provided full support to the loan borrowers. Both of them colluded with the loanees and caused huge financial loss to the bank and government amounting to Rs.3,40,71,000.

          The spokesperson further added that in the same way, the above said accused Satish Jha had also bought a plot of 5 and a half marlas on 30-06-2015 and after mutation he procured loan to the tune of Rs 25 lakh from the said Punjab Gramin Bank with the connivance of manager Harbhajan Singh Kapoor and valuer Satish Kumar Sharma for the construction of new house, while in fact he has not constructed any house on the said land.