IEP Chandigarh/SAS Nagar, January 23

Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government is making a comprehensive plan to modernise the Punjab Government Press at SAS Nagar, stated Mr. Aman Arora, Minister for Printing and Stationery, Punjab, while adding that the Press will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

He was here to visit the Government Printing Press at SAS Nagar to review the operations and get first hand experience to further improve the functioning of the department. 

Notably, Mr. Aman Arora had assumed the charge as Minister of this department recently. He also visited the state government printing press at Patiala last week. 

Mr. Aman Arora along with Principal Secretary Printing and Stationery Mr VK Meena, Controller Mr Puneet Goel and Additional Controller Anand Sagar Sharma visited all the sections of the printing press and interacted with the officials and employees working there. 

Underscoring the need to upgrade printing facility to keep pace with changing times, Mr Aman Arora said that this prestigious state government institute is suffering due to apathetic attitude of previous governments but Mann Government will not leave any stone unturned to revamp the printing facility by adopting the latest technologies equipped with digital infrastructure, besides improving building structure. He reiterated that all printing stationery works of the state government should be executed by the department itself.

The department officials assured the cabinet minister that they will work tirelessly to compete with modern trends.

IEP CHANDIGARH

Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today expressed serious concern over the “trouble and turmoil” in the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, with open and outright confrontation between the political executive and the bureaucracy. 

In a statement, Warring referred to the removal of the health secretary over his reported refusal to approve Rs 30 crores for advertising a goverment scheme whose cost was Rs 10 crores only. He sought a clarification from the government on the issue, saying it was a matter of grave concern as how Punjab’s money was being squandered away in such a brazenly lavish manner. 

At the same time, the PCC president pointed out, it indicated serious confrontation between the bureaucracy and the political executive, which is not good for Punjab. He said, the health secretary was not the first officer to be shunted out and he was not going to be the last one either, given the way the AAP government was being run in Punjab. 

Warring said, with every passing day, the AAP government was revealing its inexperience, incompetence and inefficiency and now it has even failed to handle the bureaucracy which was trying to exploit the government’s inexperience and incompetence. 

Otherwise, he asked, how would the bureaucrats have the  audacity to disobey the government. “We as the principal opposition party are concerned over the erosion of the political authority thanks to your inexperience and incompetence”, the PCC president told the government, while asking it to set its house in order. “If your intentions are clear, nobody can dare to defy you”, he told the government while advising it not to give any excuse for defiance to the bureaucracy.

IEP Mumbai/ Chandigarh, January 22-

In order to give further impetus to industrial growth of the state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today reached here to woo leading entrepreneurs of the region for investing in the state.

During the two days tour, the Chief Minister will be meeting business delegations and prominent companies to rope in investments. Bhagwant Mann will be meeting leading business tycoons for and strategic tie ups in key sectors. During his visit the Chief Minister will also be inviting the captains of industry to visit the state in the Invest Punjab Summit slated to be held next month at SAS Nagar, Mohali.

Meanwhile at his arrival in Mumbai, the Chief Minister reiterated the firm commitment of his government to emerge the state as an industrial hub in the country. He that the state government will leave no stone unturned for this noble cause. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is already making strenuous efforts to put state on the orbit of high growth trajectory of industrial development.

The Chief Minister said that state government is also mulling the idea of setting film city in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann said that since a large number of his friends from film Industry are settled in Mumbai so he will request them to open their ventures in Punjab. He said that Punjabi film industry is already very big and this proposed film city will further give wings to it for expansion.

The Chief Minister expressed hope that this visit will propel the industrial growth of state on one hand and open new vistas of employment for youth on the other. Bhagwant Mann said that he will personally showcase Punjab as land of opportunities and growth to the entrepreneurs in Mumbai. He said that Punjab is the most preferred investment destination in the country adding that every effort will be made to rope in new investments in the state.

Meanwhile the Chief Minister was accorded warm welcome on arrival of this two days tour.

IEP CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, January 22

The ongoing war against drugs launched on the directions of Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann received yet another major breakthrough after Punjab Police, in a joint operation with Border Security Force (BSF), have shot down a sophisticated hexacopter drone loaded with 5Kg Heroin during a search operation launched at area of Border Outpost (BOP) Kakkar on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that this is the sixth drone recovered in less than two months.He said that this hybrid 6-winged drone, worth Rs 10 lakhs, is assembled with parts manufactured in USA and China, and was equipped with hi-tech features including long-lasting battery backup and infrared-based night vision camera and GPS system.DGP Gaurav Yadav said that after noticing the drone movement in Indo-Pak border on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, Police teams from Amritsar Rural district immediately shared the pin-pointed inputs with the BSF and jointly conducted an intensive search operation in the area of Village Kakkar, which is just 2kms away from the Indo-Pak border.He said that the Police teams had fired at least 12 burst-fires from AK-47 to shoot-down the drone.Sharing more details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Swapan Sharma said that the Police have rounded-up two persons from the spot when they were trying to escape. Investigations are on to ascertain the identity of the Pak smugglers, who sent the consignment via drone, and also their Indian associates, who were to receive this air-dropped consignment of heroin, he added.Meanwhile, a case FIR No. 12 Dated 22/1/2023 has been registered under sections 21, 23 and 28 of the NDPS Act and sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Aircraft Act at Police Station Lopoke in Amritsar Rural. .BOX: SIX DRONES RECOVERED IN TWO MONTHSNovember 29, 2022: A hexacopter drone carrying six packets of heroin, weighing 6.68 kg, was recovered in the jurisdiction of Border Outpost (BOP) Harbhajan in Khemkaran, Tarn TaranNovember 30, 2022: A broken quadcopter drone was recovered from the area of village Van Tara Singh in Khalra, Tarn TaranDecember 2, 2022: A hexacopter drone carrying five packets of heroin, weighing 5.60 kg, was recovered from the Khemkaran area in Tarn TaranDecember 4, 2022: A quadcopter drone loaded with three packets of heroin, weighing 3.06Kg, was recovered from area of Border Outpost (BOP) Kalia in Tarn TaranDecember 25, 2022: A DJI series USA made Hi-tech drone, worth Rs 20 lakhs, recovered along with 10Kg heroin by the Amritsar Rural PoliceJanuary 22, 2023: A hexacopter hi-tech drone carrying 5Kg heroin was recovered from area of BOP Kakkar in Amritsar Rural

IEP Chandigarh, January 22

Local Government Minister Dr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar on Sunday emphasised on the production of Millet crop while inaugurating the Eat Right Millet Fair organized by the Foods and Drug Administration Punjab (FDA) in collaboration with the district administration at Company Bagh, Amritsar.

Addressing the farmers, food experts, students and general public present at the event, Dr Nijjar said that we should do natural farming to save our land from poison. He said that we have completely forgotten about coarse grains, which mainly include millet, kangni, kodra, jowar, kuttaki, samwan, and ragi, while their consumption is very important for our physical and mental well-being. He said that use of water and fertiliser can be reduced  adopting natural farming.

Dr. Nijjar said that once coarse grains were an important part of our diet, but due to major changes in our lifestyle, it has disappeared from our plate. As a result of this, we are suffering from many terrible diseases, he added.

He further said that due to the high amount of gluten in wheat, we are getting sick and we are also damaging our soil by using chemicals to produce these crops.

On this occasion Dr. Nijjar visited the various stalls set up in the fair for the promotion of organic farming and coarse grains and appreciated the organizers of the fair for their initiatives. Dr. Nijjar also felicitated the participating children.

In this fair, Food and Drug Commissioner Punjab Dr. Abhinav Trikha, Assistant Food Commissioner Mr. Rajinder Singh, Food Safety Officers Mr. Satnam Singh, Kamaljit Kaur, Karan Sachdeva, Mr. Surjit Anand, Dr. Rakesh Sharma, O.S.D. Manpreet Singh, PA Maninderpal Singh, and a large number of people were present.

IEP Chandigarh/Sunam Udham Singh Wala, January 22

Punjab Information and Public Relations, New & Renewable Energy Sources, Housing & Urban Development and Printing & Stationery Minister Aman Arora today conducted surprise inspection at the construction site of Rehari Fadhi Market (modern street vending zone) being developed at the cost of Rs. 1 crore at Old Vegetable Market in Sunam city.

During the inspection, Cabinet Minister Aman Arora meticulously observed the ongoing construction work of the sewerage manhole chamber and found that old bricks were being used in some places. Taking serious notice of this, Mr. Aman Arora said that the misuse of government funds, released for the multi-faceted development works by the Punjab Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Mann, will not be tolerated.

In view of those irregularities, the concerned contractor and departmental officials were directed strictly to maintain the standards of the works. The Cabinet Minister said that any kind of negligence will not be tolerated in the ongoing development works on the land of Shaheed Udham Singh. He said that the concerned officials should perform their duties properly. He said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, it is the main goal of the Punjab government that people’s money should be utilised 101 percent honestly and properly.

Living up to his commitment to serve the people of Sunam, the Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, in the beginning of January of this year,  had laid the foundation stone of the street vending zone at the old vegetable market of the city, which would prove as a boon for the vegetable and fruit vendors in the city in coming future. The cabinet minister also instructed the officials to complete this vending zone within three months.

IEP Chandigarh, January 22

In a crackdown against gangster-terrorist nexus amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a crime-free state as per the vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Police on Sunday launched massive raids on suspected hideouts of persons linked with Gangster turned Terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa. The simultaneous raids were conducted at the residential and other premises linked to Lakhbir landa of Harike village of Tarn Taran district, in all the districts of Punjab in the ongoing cases. The operation was aimed at disrupting the nexus between terrorists, gangsters and drug smugglers based in India and Abroad.Divulging details, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that 334 persons linked with Landa were raided in a day long operation by 142 parties of Punjab Police involving about 800 police personnel. In district Tarn Taran alone 65 Police parties raided premises of 171 persons linked with Lakhbir landa, he said.”Today’s searches were planned after the questioning of several persons in the recently busted modules backed by Lakhbir Landa, besides, to infuse fear among the anti-social elements and instil a sense of safety and security among the common people,” he said.Sharing more details, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Law and Order Arpit Shukla said that several persons have been detained for further verification and incriminating material has been seized from their possession, which is being further examined.He said that the data collected during the search operation is being examined further.Notably, Canada-based gangster turned terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, involved in various criminal activities in Punjab and Abroad, is most wanted criminal by the Punjab Police. He is a Category-A gangster who after committing various crimes fled to Canada in 2017. Sitting in Canada, he runs a network of gangsters involved in extortion, killings and other terror crimes in Punjab. He has been indulging in these crimes in association with his other associates based in different countries. He is close associate of Harwinder Singh alias Rinda based in Pakistan and actively supported by ISI of Pakistan.He was mastermind in recent RPG attacks on intelligence Headquarters and Police Station building of Sarhali. He has been facing as many as 31 FIRs pertaining to murder, NDPS act, extortions, ransom and spreading terror, registered against him.

IEP Chandigarh/Barnala, January 21

Dedicating projects of irrigation worth crores to the people of Barnala, the Minister for Water Resources Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer today said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government was committed towards meeting with all demands of farmers and ensuring their interests.

The Minister laid foundation stone of work of laying underground water pipes as well as lining the tributary at village Kothe Rajinder Pura. He said that this project is being constructed at a cost of Rs 43 lakhs and on the completion of this project 174 hectares acres of land will be irrigated. At the completion of this 2511 meters pipe Line network, the villages lying at the tail end of tributary will be highly benefitted.

There after the Minister inaugurated Rs 85 lakh worth project at village Uppli near Dangarh minor which lies in around 7.70 km of area. The water carrying capacity of the structural has been increased by 20% after the concrete lining. Minister meet here said that with the completion of this project villages of Kattu, Dangarh, Upli , Dhanaula and nearby areas are getting benefit. The water carrying capacity of this minor is around 7.70 to 8.43 cusecs which is enough to irrigate around 2800 acres of land.

At village Harigarh near Dhanaula Badbar main road on the Joga distributary the Minister inaugurated Rs 26.91 crore project of upgradation under which 4.75 km of concrete lining work has been completed.

He added that the capacity of this distributary is around 301.32 cusecs to 327.74 cusecs, which irrigates around 108000 acres of land. This covers the villages of Harigarh, Attar Singh Wala, Dhanaula, Bhure, Kubbe, Aspal Kalan, Aspal Khurd, Badra, Bhaini Fatta and Dhurkot. He added that with the concrete lining not only seepage has reduced instead the water carrying capacity of water bodies have increased by 20%.

IEP SAS Nagar (Mohali), January 21

Describing the ‘Schools of Eminence’ as a revolutionary step for ensuring golden future of the students, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today said that it was a giant leap forward towards becoming a real frontrunner in field of education. 

The Chief Minister, while addressing the gathering during opening of School of Eminence here today, said that during the stints of previous governments Punjab was shown front ranking state in education only on paper. However, he said that now the state will really lead the country in imparting quality education to the students. Bhagwant Mann bemoaned that the Government schools were striving for basic infrastructure and manpower but the previous governments misled the people by presenting forged figures. 

The Chief Minister said that as these governments ignored an important sector like education so the state behind in this field. He said that several students were forced to leave their education in between thereby ruining their bright future. Bhagwant Mann said that due to lack of resources and laxity of previous governments girls were not able to pursue their education.

The Chief Minister said that unfortunately those who presented the fake figures were not from other states but were the politicians hailing from Punjab only. Bhagwant Mann asserted that his government has made a firm commitment to impart world class education to the students. He said that the day is not far when the students from state will scale new heights across the globe after getting education from these Government schools.

The Chief Minister said that these leaders wanted to give a push to their political career that too at the cost of compromising with the future of the students from weaker and underprivileged sections of society. He said that due to regressive policies of these leaders the state has lagged behind in fields of health and education thereby jeopardising the progress of youth. Bhagwant Mann said that wise people of state had understood the bad intentions of these politicians due to which they have been routed out and chance has been given to fresh faces. 

The Chief Minister said that baffled over their humiliating defeat these leaders are resorting to various tantrums to defame the Government. He said that these leaders are leaving no stone unturned for criticising the government over non issues. Bhagwant Mann said that the real problem is that the state government has acted sternly against mafia and illegal activities patronised by these leaders adding he said that people had given a whopping mandate to his party and he will upheld faith of people at all costs. 

The Chief Minister said that these 117 schools of eminence being set up in 23 districts of state are temples of quality education. He said that the purpose of setting up these schools is to give wings to the dreams of the bright students of government schools. Bhagwant Mann envisioned that these schools will enable the students to compete with their convent educated peers in various competitive exams across the country.  

The Chief Minister said that these schools are being set up to cherish the aspirations of our great freedom fighters. He also announced that to name these schools on great martyrs and national leaders who had laid down their lives at altar of their motherland. Bhagwant Mann said that this initiative will be a real tribute to these iconic leaders who steered the country to freedom. 

The Chief Minister emphasised that these schools will groom the students for futuristic needs and emerge Punjab as role model in education sector across the country. He envisioned that the day is not far when these government schools will provide better education than the private schools. Bhagwant Mann said that the parents of students will now prefer to send their children in these schools than the private schools. 

The Chief Minister said that such schools have already revolutionised the education sector in Delhi. He said that now it is the turn of Punjab where this model will be implemented successfully. Bhagwant Mann expressed hope that these schools will transform the education sector in Punjab and open new avenues for students. 

Describing the teachers as ‘nation builders’, the Chief Minister said that they have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. He said that the teachers have to play a pivotal role in bringing qualitative change in education sector. Bhagwant Mann exhorted the teachers to discharge their duties with utmost professional commitment to give a major push to education sector. 

The Chief Minister said that the teachers will be the foot soldiers to usher in a new era of education reforms in the state. He said that his government has decided to send 36 teachers from state to Singapore for updating their expertise. Bhagwant Mann said that the motive is to ensure that teachers are able to learn about the advanced practices prevailing across the globe in education sector. 

Addressing the gathering, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that this is the dream project of the Chief Minister. He said that with every passing day Punjab is witnessing new reforms in education sector. Bains said that these schools will help in opening the doors of competitive world for the students of Government schools.

On the occasion Cabinet Minister Anmol Gagan Mann and others were also present.

IEP Chandigarh, January 20

          The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is continuously working for the welfare of families suffering from atrocities.  Therefore, under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989, an amount of 7.65 crores has been released for the year 2022-23 to compensate the families which are victims of atrocities.

Giving information in this regard, Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur said that Centrally sponsored scheme under the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 has released the amount as part of the budget provision of the state during the year 2022-23.  Due to this, approval has been given to release an amount of Rs 7.65 crore as the state’s share.

She instructed the officials of the department to speed up the process of giving compensation to the families of the victims under Act 1989.