IEP Chandigarh, July 20       

   Punjab Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar, on Thursday, informed that the Minister’s Flying Squad, formed to curb corrupt practices in the department, has caught two drivers of government buses for pilfering 42 litres of diesel theft. Besides this, a conductor was also caught for not issuing tickets to passengers after collecting money from them. While, three private buses were challaned for plying sans valid documents, and one bus operating without any document has been impounded.          Divulging further, Laljit Singh Bhullar said that the Flying Squad conducted a raid last night around 10:15 pm at Sirhind and caught driver Sukhveer Singh red-handed, stealing 22 litres of diesel from Bus No. PB-65ET 0542 of PUNBUS Dipot Chandigarh. Similarly, at Rajpura around 1:30 AM, the squad caught Gagandeep Singh the driver of Bus No. PB-02-EH 3066 of PUNBUS Amritsar-Sahib-2, pilfering 20 liters of diesel.          During the checking at Kupp, the Flying Squad reported conductor Karamjeet Singh of Bus No. PB-10GX 8526 of Ludhiana Depot for not issuing tickets to the passengers despite collecting Rs.180 from them.          Apert from this, the Minister’s Flying Squad conducted checking at the Ludhiana bus stand and challaned private buses operating without valid documents including permits, taxes and insurance. During checking spree, the Bus No. PB-10HF 0345 of JR Coach was challaned for operating without tax, insurance and pollution certificate, while another Bus No. PB-10HH 6034 of JR Coach was impounded for running without valid documents. Likewise, the Bus No. PB-29X 7866 of Malwa Highways Moga and the Bus No. PB-04AC 3066 of Malwa Roadways, Giddarbaha were challaned for operating without insurance and pollution certificate, respectively.          The Flying Squad also reported six buses operating on unscheduled routes. During the checking at Ucha Pind, the Bus No. PB-02-EG 4389 of Patti Depot was found operating on an unscheduled route. Similarly, during the checking in Gurudaspur, the Bus No.PB-02-EH 2672 of Amritsar-1 Depot and Bus No. PB-08-CX 6984 of Jalandhar-1 Depot were also found plying on unscheduled routes. In Phagwara, bus no. PB-02-EG 9438 of Patti Depot and bus no. PB-02-DR 2798 of Tarn Taran Depot were found on different routes than the scheduled ones. Bus No. PB-46M 8995 of Patti Depot was found running on unscheduled route during checking in Kartarpur. A security guard was found absent from duty during the raid in Sirhind.           Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar instructed the officials of the department to take immediate action against the erring employees.

IEP Chandigarh, July 20     

     Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Thursday said that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL) have provided 3972 jobs since April 2022 under the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government’s mission to provide maximum employment opportunities to the youth of the state.          Revealing this in a press communique issued here, the Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said that PSPCL has contributed maximum in this recruitment drive by providing employment to 3224 deserving and eligible youth of the state. He said that PSPCL has provided 2630 jobs under direct recruitment and 463 jobs on the compassionate basis from April 2022 to June 2023 with the aim of providing better service to its esteemed consumers. “In addition to this, Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann handed over appointment letters to 131 clerks in PSPCL during a function held on July 06, 2023”, he added.          Divulging further, the Power Minister said that the PSTCL has provided 748 jobs under direct recruitment from April 2022 to June 2023. “PSPCL has also advertised 139 posts of SDOs. The recruitment process will be completed by September this year. Vacant posts of SDOs in Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) will also be filled through this recruitment”, said Harbhajan Singh ETO.          Power Minister said that the PSPCL, an organization which is responsible for electrifying households of more than one crore consumers of different categories, and PSTCL, the agency responsible for arresting and bringing down power transmission losses and attaining world-class transmission system, were playing a vital role in the all-round development of the state. He said that it was all due to the measures taken in advance that the record highest demand of 15325 MW power was also met this year.  

IEP Chandigarh, July 20     

     Punjab Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Minister Mr Aman Arora on Thursday awarded “Academic Torch” to 14 Cadets of the 12th Batch of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), SAS Nagar (Mohali) for securing 85% marks or above in the class 12th half yearly examinations in school. The initiative was taken to boost their morale for final exams.          Quoting “Even the sky is not the limit,”, Mr. Aman Arora during interaction with cadets motivated them to work harder to realise their dreams. “You all have come this far by chasing your dreams to be an officer in the Armed Forces, which is the most gallant, reputed and decorated field. Just keep hustling and never give up on your dreams,” he implored.          During his maiden visit to the Institute, the Cabinet Minister along with Director Employment Generation Department Ms Deepti Uppal took a tour to the campus to review the infrastructure and facilities being provided to the Cadets in the Institute. Meanwhile, the Minister inspected the infrastructural facilities including Shooting Range, Swimming Pool, Tennis Court and other play grounds to ensure that needful can be done wherever required. He said that Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government is committed to fulfil the aspirations of youth, who want to join Defence Services.          Director of Maharaja Ranjit Singh AFPI Major General Ajay H. Chauhan (Retd.) apprised the Cabinet Minister that a total of 217 cadets of this Institute have joined National Defence Academy (NDA) and other Service Academies, of which, 141 cadets have been commissioned as Officers in Defence Services (Army-109, Navy-13 and Air Force-19). With the selection rate of 52 per cent the Institute is the most successful of its kind across the country.          He further informed that 38 Cadets have cleared the various UPSC examinations of NDA-1, CDS & AFCAT. These cadets are presently undergoing Services Selection Board (SSB). Till date 07 cadets have cleared the SSB while remaining cadets are awaiting SSB call up

IEP Chandigarh, July 20     

      The Water Resources Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Thursday held a review meeting with the officials of the department to take stock of the flood situation in several districts due to the excess water in the rivers of the state due to record breaking rains in Punjab and hilly areas and directed to speed up the ongoing rescue and relief work.          Meet Hayer said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is keeping a close eye on the flood situation and he is constantly taking reports from the department. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the department is monitoring the water situation in dams, rivers, and canals and the work of filling the gap is being done fast. During the meeting, Principal Secretary Water Resources Krishan Kumar presented a report on the current situation and detailed the ongoing works.          The Water Resources Minister said that the reason for the situation in many districts of Punjab is due to the heavy rains that fell on July 9 and 10.          Divulging the details, he said that in normal times in Ropar, there is a total average of 288 mm of rain in the month of July, but this time 377 mm of rain fell in just two days. Similarly, in the month of July, the total average rainfall in Mohali was 208.6 and this time 266 mm was received in two days. If we talk about the whole of Punjab, the state used to receive 161.4 mm of rain in the month of July and this time 83.4 mm of rain was received in two days. The rains in Himachal Pradesh are also the main reason behind the excess water in the rivers of Punjab. Himachal Pradesh receives an average of 255.9 mm of rainfall in the month of July, while 195.8 mm of rain fell in two days on July 9 and 10.          Meet Hayer further said that the department is monitoring the condition of all dams, rivers and canals every hour. He said that according to this morning’s report, the water level in Bhakra Dam is 1648.12 feet while the capacity is 1680 feet. The water level in Pong Dam is 1374 feet while the capacity is 1390 feet and the water level in Ranjit Sagar Dam is 1721.4 feet while the capacity is 1731.99 feet.          Giving information about the water level in the three dams in the last 11 days due to excessive rain and cloud bursts in the hilly areas, he said that from July 9 to July 20, the water level in Bhakra Dam has increased by 41.46 feet, in Pong Dam by 35.13 feet and in Ranjit Sagar Dam by 33.9 feet. He also clarified that during this season the flood gates were not opened even once from Bhakra Dam. A maximum of 35000 cusecs of water is released through the turbines which is required and essential for power generation.          The Minister said that during the meeting, the incidents of breaching in the rivers at different places in the state were reviewed and instructions were given that the work of filling the breaching should be done on a war footing. He said that many places have been plugged and in some places only after the water recedes, the work of plughing the breaches can be started.          Meet Hayer said that according to the initial estimate, the department suffered a loss of Rs. 90 crore due to floods. This damage has happened to canals and drains.          Chief Engineer (Canals) NK Jain and Chief Engineer (Drainage) Hardeep Singh Mahindiratta were also present in the meeting.

IEP Chandigarh, July 20     

      As part of its commitment to provide succour to the beleaguered people in accordance with the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the State Government machinery has plunged headlong to mitigate the situation created by floods in the state.            To speed up the relief operations in the state and as per the directions of CM Bhagwant Mann, 26672 persons have been evacuated and taken to safe places. A spokesperson informed that 1441 villages have been affected by the flood till 8 am on July 20. A total of 155 relief camps are running in the state in which 4424 people are staying.           Currently, 19 districts are affected by floods including Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Kapurthala, Patiala, Moga, Ludhiana, SAS Nagar, Jalandhar, Sangrur, SBS Nagar, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Mansa, Bathinda and Pathankot.            According to the report received by the revenue department from different districts, a total of 38 people have lost their lives due to floods in the state.            As per the information received from the animal husbandry department, a total of 2554 animals treated in the state.            Rescue teams of the department are working round the clock to provide treatment, supply feed, fodder and silage to the needy animals. Special flood relief camps are also being organised in affected districts.           On the other hand, the teams of the health department are working in the flood-affected areas with full attention. According to the spokesperson, 434 Rapid Response Teams (RRT) have been working at flood affected areas. The health department has set up 247 medical camps in the affected areas.           He further informed that dry food packets are being continuously distributed in the flood affected areas. 22,871 dry food packets have been distributed in Rupnagar, 64000 in Patiala, 4600 in SAS Nagar, 5700 in SBS Nagar and 2200 in Fatehgarh Sahib.

IEP Chandigarh, July 20      

    Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Thursday arrested Retired PCS Officer Jagdish Singh Johal, who was Land Acquisition Collector (LAC) of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), in connection with multi-crore Guava trees compensation scam.          This is the 20th arrest in the scam wherein compensation worth crores of rupees was wrongfully claimed in lieu of land acquired by GMADA at village Bakarpur in SAS Nagar (Mohali) district.          Revealing the details here today, an official spokesperson of the VB said that Jagdish Singh Johal was instrumental in approving disbursals of wrongful payments to accused beneficiaries on the basis of tailor made assessment report containing names and shares of said beneficiaries in contravention with the Revenue records.          Pertinently, two Retired Patwaris Surinderpal Singh and Surinderpal, then posted at the LAC Branch of GMADA, were also arrested last week in the case.          During the interrogation, the Spokesperson said, they disclosed that initially they refused to certify the payment forms as names of owners and shares mentioned in the assessment report of the Horticulture Department as it were different from actual owners and their shares as per the Revenue record. They alleged that the accused Jagdish Singh Johal exercised his influence and pressurised them to initiate noting for approval of disbursement of payments in accordance with the assessment report of Horticulture Department by ignoring Revenue records. Further as the LAC, the accused PCS officer approved the payments and subsequently released around Rs 124 Crores to various beneficiaries giving undue benefits to them while causing heavy losses to the exchequer.          To ensure payments to genuine beneficiaries, the Chief Administrator GMADA had even ordered that LAC would visit personally to inspect Guava orchards, check Girdawri records to ascertain age of trees, besides conducting GIS drone mapping survey and videography of the area. However, JS Johal deliberately ignored all these checks and released payments in connivance with the accused beneficiaries, he added.          A performa, which was devised by the Chief Administrator GMADA on 01.06.2021 on which basis the first payments of compensation were started, was totally ignored. The accused PCS officer has also released the compensation to Nisha Garg, Shubham Wadhawan, Binder Singh, Neelam Bansal, Kiran Bansal, Bimla Mittal, Chestha, Santosh Kumari, Chanchal Kumar, Anil Kumar Batra, Susheel Kumari Batra and Rashmi Arora, who were not even recorded as land owners in the Revenue record.          Therefore, he has released the compensation to the non-eligible land owners, whereas their land pooling case is proposed to be forwarded to the court being unauthorised purchase.          The spokesperson further informed that after surfacing of incriminating oral, circumstantial and documentary evidence against Jagdish Singh Johal, the VB has nominated the PCS Officer as an accused and arrested today from Mohali. Further, role of other officials concerned is under scanner.

IEP Chandigarh, July 19

          Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan today met exceptional weightlifter Amarjeet Guru, who won Silver Medal in weightlifting in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship-2023 held at Noida, recently.

          Amarjeet Guru, son of Raj Kumar from village Gunachaur (SBS Nagar), has exhibited remarkable dedication and skill in the field of weightlifting for the past 13 years. His hard work and relentless pursuit of excellence have earned him a well-deserved place among the top weightlifters in the nation.

          During the meeting at the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat here, S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan commended Amarjeet Guru on his extraordinary achievement at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship. He lauded Amarjeet Guru’s commitment to the sport and expressed his pride in witnessing a young athlete from Punjab shine on the national stage.

          During the interaction, S. Sandhwan assured Amarjeet Guru of full support and encouragement for his future endeavours. He said that the Punjab government is committed to promoting and uplifting talented athletes like Amarjeet Guru and providing them with the necessary resources to excel on international platforms.

          Sh. Nachhattar Pal, MLA Nawanshahar was also present on this occasion. He conveyed his heartfelt congratulations to Amarjeet Guru. He said that the outstanding accomplishment of the player not only brings glory to his family and hometown but also serves as an inspiration for aspiring athletes across the state.

IEP Nakodar (Jalandhar), July 19

 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday paid obeisance at Darbar Almast Bapu Lal Badshah ji and sought blessings from Darbar to further achieve the goals for unprecedented development and progress of the state and prosperity of its people. On the occasion, the Chief Minister congratulated the huge rush of devotees (sangat) converging at the darbar and committee on the annual congregation to mark Almast Bapu Lal Badshah Ji’s mela. Bhagwant Mann also prayed for the welfare of all sections of the society besides seeking blessings to serve the people of Punjab for more zealously. He said all of us should celebrate such historic and religious occasions together by rising above petty politics, caste, colour and creed.  The Chief Minister further said that as Punjabis are blessed with indomitable spirit to face colossal challenges and successfully emerge from them, so the present flood situation will also normalize shortly with joint efforts of all, who were putting their efforts round the clock in flood hit areas.  Bhagwant Mann said Punjab is a land of saint, seers, prophets and great martyrs adding that Punjabis are sons of soil, who have learned a lot from teachings of great Gurus and sacrifices of our patriots. He said that the current crisis amid floods in several parts of the state will be over soon as Punjabis had joined hands to help out people facing distress due to natural calamity. The Chief Minister said Punjabis were well-known to help others in trying circumstances across the globe so the current tough time will also be overcome in a short span of time. He said this is not the first time, when Punjab is facing such a situation as the state has a glorious history of combating such adversaries. However, Bhagwant Mann with the blessings of almighty all these problems will be definitely contained. Pointing out further, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said people of Punjab had given opportunity to them for taking wise and pro-people decisions. He assured that his Government is taking all decisions in the larger interests of Punjab and its people besides putting the state on a high growth trajectory. Bhagwant Mann also emphasized that all of us should be always connected with our roots as the trees having deep roots in soil never fell in any situation. The Chief Minister said his Government is working sincerely with utmost transparency and commitment to make Punjab a frontrunner state in all sectors. He said that the pristine glory of the state will be restored at all costs and the state government has already started getting results on this count. Bhagwant Mann said that strenuous efforts of the state government will give further impetus to development and prosperity of the state. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister and others also partook the langar. He also interacted with the sangat from different parts of the state. From the Darbar committee, Hans Raj Hans also presented a shawl to the Chief Minister and other dignitaries. Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Cabinet Minister Balkar Singh, Head of Dera and renowned singer Hans Raj Hans, MLAs Inderjit Kaur Mann and Jasvir Singh Raja besides others

IEP CHANDIGARH, July 19    

      Amidst the ongoing anti-corruption drive, Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday arrested a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sushil Kumar for taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakhs for re-nominating a person— who was given a clean chit, in a 2019 murder case of Mahant Dayal Das. The latter was shot dead by two unknown persons at Dera Baba Harka Das in village Kotsukhia in Kotkapura on November 7, 2019.          Following this, the murder case was registered at Police Station Sadar Kotkapura against two unknown persons and Sant Jarnail Das Kapurewale and others on the complaint of Sant Gagan Das, who is a disciple of Sant Baba Haridas. Later, accused Sant Jarnail Das was given a clean chit by DSP HQs Moga Ravinder Singh.          Divulging details, a official Spokesperson of the VB said that Punjab and Haryana High Court summoned IGP Faridkot Range Pardeep Kumar Yadav to file affidavit in this case. Thereafter, the IGP had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) headed by SP (D) Faridkot Gagnesh Kumar comprising members including DSP Faridkot Sushil Kumar, DSP Baghapurana Jasjot Singh and SI Khem Chand.          He said that in November 2022, SP Gagnesh Kumar, DSP Sushil Kumar and SI Khem Chand had demanded Rs 50 lakh as a bribe from Sant Gagan Das to re-nominate and arrest Sant Jarnail Das Kapurewale and to help him (Gagan Das) in this case. The deal was settled at Rs 35 lakh and the said officers had already taken Rs 20 lakh in two instalments— Rs 15 lakh and Rs 5 lakh on November 9, 2022 and November 22, 2022.          The spokesperson said that following the investigations, the Police teams from Vigilance Bureau Ferozepur Range have arrested DSP Sushil Kumar, who is presently posted at 3 IRB, Ludhiana. The accused DSP will be produced before the Court on Thursday, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, July 19     

     In less than two months after the Punjab Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Minister Mr Aman Arora inaugurated the ‘Center of Excellence’ (CoE) in Phagwara, as many as 140 candidates, including 32 girls have already enrolled themselves at the centre and undergoing training in different job roles.          President World Bank Mr Ajay Banga along with officials of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on Wednesday reviewed the functioning of the CoE. Punjab was among the four states, which were chosen to showcase the functioning of COE before the World Bank President. Other three states were Karnataka, Orissa and Maharashtra.          This CoE was established under the World Bank funded SANKALP scheme to provide skill training to the youth of Punjab. Punjab Skill Development Mission (PSDM) had inked an MoU with Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) for setting up of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Phagwara on February 9, 2023 and the Centre was inaugurated on May 26.          During the meeting, Mr Ajay Banga also interacted with the female candidates undergoing training at the CoE.          The CoE was set up with an aim to make the youth of Punjab skilful and employable as desired by Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann.          Pertinently, the Centre of Excellence has been running successfully with a total of 140 candidates, including 32 girls, have been undergoing training in job roles including Automotive Machine Operator, Fitter Electrical and Electronic Assembly. A Total of 2000 candidates will be provided training in the Centre of Excellence.           Meanwhile, the CoE is focused on women empowerment and aims to provide skill training to female candidates in Non-Traditional sectors.