IEP CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, October 4 

With Punjab Police having further intensified vigil and alertness against anti-social elements ahead of the festival season on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Amritsar Rural Police has busted an ISI-backed Narco-Terrorism module. Its main operative has been arrested after recovering arms and explosives from his possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.The module is being jointly operated by Canada-based Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, Pakistan-based Harvinder Singh Rinda and Italy-based Harpreet Singh alias Happy.The arrested accused has been identified as Yograj Singh alias Yog, resident of Village Rajoke in Tarn Taran, besides, the Police have also identified five more accomplices, who were part of the module in carrying out illegal activities across Punjab and adjoining states.The police have recovered a one RDX loaded Tiffin Box fabricated into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or Tiffin Bomb; two sophisticated AK-56 assault rifles along with two magazines and 30 live cartridges; one .30 bore pistol along with 6 live cartridges; and 2 KG Heroin from the accused.DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the arrested accused Yograj is the main operative of this module and wanted by the state police and Central Enforcement Agencies in at least five criminal cases including the one wherein five AK-47 assault rifles were seized in Tarn Taran in September 2019.He said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the cross-border operations of arms-explosives-drugs smuggling was mainly handled by Yograj on the directions of terrorists/gangsters Landa, Rinda and Happy and jailed smuggler Gurpavitar alias Sai of Lakhna, Tarn Taran. Yograj had been active in recovery and further delivery of consignments of Arms and Drugs at a large scale, he added.Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Swapan Sharma said that the Police has made a major strike in exposing members of Landa-Rinda terror module. In the present module, the Police have managed to identify five operatives of the gang and manhunt has been launched to nab them, he added.He said that further investigations are on, and more recoveries of arms and explosives are expected soon.Meanwhile, FIR no 107 dated 04/10/2022 has been registered under sections 21/27-A/29/61/85 of the NDPS Act and sections 25/54/59 of Arms Act at Police Station Ramdas in Amritsar Rural. 

IEP Chandigarh, October 4

Punjab Information & Public Relations, Housing & Urban Development and New & Renewable Energy Sources Minister Mr. Aman Arora extended warm greetings to the people of the state on the eve of Dussehra.

In his message, the Cabinet Minister said that the auspicious occasion of Vijaya Dashami inspires all to follow the path of righteousness and goodness. The festival conveys the message of the victory of good over evil and all of us should try to follow the path shown by the Maryada-Parshotam Lord Rama for the creation of an ideal society.

Conveying his best wishes to the people of the state, Mr. Aman Arora urged them to celebrate this festival with fervor and zeal irrespective of religion, caste and creed to strengthen the bond of communal harmony and brotherhood. He also prayed to the Almighty to guide us for building a Rangla and prosperous Punjab.

IEP Chandigarh, October 01

 Punjab New and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Mr. Aman Arora has sought Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for solarisation of agriculture pump sets up to 15 horse power (HP) capacity on the pattern of North East and Hilly states so that maximum pumps can be solarised in the State. This assistance is given under PM-KUSUM Scheme.In a letter written to Mr. RK Singh, Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy (GoI), Punjab Cabinet Minister raised the issue of keeping Punjab out from the ambit of the Scheme. He said that the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has made a provision for providing CFA to the farmers of North East and Hilly States for their pumps up to 15HP capacity on 01.08.2022. But, this facility is available only for up to 7.5HP agri-pumps in Punjab.“Punjab was the pioneer state in the green revolution which is rightly known as the food bowl of India. Thus, farmers of the state also need hand-holding of the Centre Government and they also deserve to avail the benefits of the scheme. Punjab is predominantly an agrarian State, and around 14 lakh electric motor pumps and 1.50 lakh diesel pump sets are being utilized for irrigation in the State”, said Mr. Aman Arora.  The Minister said that the capacity of majority pumps ranges from 10HP to 15HP in the state. The cost to solarise these pumps would be very high and out of the reach of the farmers, hence in order to bring the cost of these pumps in the ambit of the farmers, the CFA is required to be provided for higher capacity pumps.In the letter, he mentioned that the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been providing 30% CFA for solarisation of agriculture pump sets of capacity up to 7.5HP under Component-B & C of PM-KUSUM Scheme. The MNRE has allocated targets for solarisation of 50,000 off grid solar pumps under Component-B and 1.25 lakh electric motor pump sets under Component-C to the State of Punjab, for which the Central Financial Assistance for agriculture pumps up to 15 HP should be extended for Punjab as well, he added.

IEP Ludhiana/Chandigarh, October 1

 Punjab Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr Baljit Kaur on Friday advocated the need of teaching the children to have respect for the elders, in the schools.Dr Baljit Kaur, who was presiding over state-level function to celebrate International Elderly Day at Guru Nanak Bhawan, said that awareness must be created among school students on how to honour and respect the elders in the families besides parents must also impart social and family values to them so that they could spend quality time with the elders in families which was now invisible. She said that loneliness was considered a silent killer of the elderly and this must be eliminated promptly by bridging the gap between young and elderly people. She said that elders had the treasure of experiences and if the children will live with them, they will be able to have knowledge of culture, good qualities and habits and other social issues.The Minister said that the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government had been taking every possible step for the welfare of elderly and added the concept of ‘Pind di Satth’ will be replicated in the urban areas also so that elderly people can gather there and hold discussions daily to overcome ‘isolation’.Kaur said that Mansa and Barnala districts will have new old-age homes as soon as the construction work has already been started. Besides, 10 districts will also get new buildings for old-age homes in the state for which the budget has also been approved. She said that the government was committed to provide a better life of elderly people in the state and added the old-age pension system has been completely made effective and transparent.Meanwhile Director Madhavi Kataria said that to address the grievances of the elderly at a faster pace, the government had launched a toll-free helpline number 14567 for them and ensured quick services and facilities to the elderly by serving them through the helpline. She also urged them to avail maximum benefit of the helpline whenever they face any difficulty in life.Earlier upon her arrival in Ludhiana for the first time, the Cabinet Minister was also accorded guard of honour by the Commissionerate Police.Prominent among present on the occasion included MLA Hardeep Singh Mundian, AAP district president Harbhupinder Singh Dharaur, senior AAP leader Master Hari Singh, DC Surabhi Malik, CP Dr Kaustubh Sharma, ADC (Rural Development) Amit Kumar Panchal and others.