Page 8 - Punjab

Punjab saw sharp decline in crime rate in 2022, shows state govt data

"The Anti-Gangster Task Force, since its formation on April 6, 2022, has succeeded in busting 111 gangster/criminal modules after arresting 428 gangsters or criminals and neutralising two"

Punjab sanctions Rs 60 crore for solar power energy system

Punjab govt has sanctioned Rs 60.50 cr to install solar power energy system for rural piped water supply schemes in the state, saving an electricity expenditure of Rs 8-9 cr per year, a minister said

Ludhiana division tops Goods and Services Tax collection in Punjab

Maintaining its top position in the collection of GST in Punjab, the Ludhiana division leads in both collection and growth rate in the first eight months of this fiscal, the government said on Sunday

Punjab Police conducts special operation at bus stands, railway stations

Punjab Police on Friday conducted a special operation at vulnerable locations, including railway stations and bus stands, to search and round-up suspicious persons for verification. The special drive -- Operation Eagle -- was conducted in all 28 police districts of the state on the directions of Director-General of Police Gaurav Yadav, an official statement said. "Apart from checking at bus stands and railway stations, over 500 well-coordinated strong 'nakas' (checkpoints) involving over 5,000 police personnel, were also set-up under the supervision of deputy superintendents of police in the state for a thorough search of suspected vehicles/persons, while ensuring minimum inconvenience to the general public," it said. The operation was conducted in a synchronised manner from 11 am to 4 pm with officers from the ranks of additional directors general, inspectors general and deputy inspectors general from Punjab Police headquarters deputed to supervise the operation in each police ...

Punjab CM to hold meeting with state health officials on Covid situation

As the entire nation gears up for a possible increase in number of Covid cases in the next few days, Punjab CM has called a meeting of the officials of the state health department over the situation

Rs 13 cr revenue generated, 72k people used luxury bus service: Pb minister

Over Rs 13 crore of revenue has been generated while 72,378 passengers availed the luxury bus service of the state owned undertaking since its launch in June this year in Punjab, an official statement said. Stating this, Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said the Volvo bus service was started by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on June 15, it said. Around 25 Volvo buses are plying daily from Amritsar, Pathankot, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Patiala, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Moga and Chandigarh to the Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi. Bhullar informed that from June 15 till November 30, a total of 24,302 passengers travelled in Pepsu Road Transport Corporation Volvo buses while 48,076 passengers travelled in buses of the Punjab Roadways. During this period, the government generated a revenue of Rs 13.89 crore on this route, the statement said. Bhullar said, With the plying of these buses, passengers are getting

PGI's satellite centre in Punjab's Sangrur gets energy management award

For demonstrating commitment to sustainable construction, the Satellite Centre of PGIMER in Punjab's Sangrur has been declared a winner in the GRIHA Exemplary Performance Competition

Protesters refuse to stop demonstration in front of ethanol plant in Punjab

The protesters, who have been sitting on a dharna in front of the distillery and ethanol plant in Mansurwal village of this district for nearly five months, refused to lift the dharna on Saturday despite minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal reaching out to them. The Punjab minister for Rural Development and Panchayat assured the protesters on all the decisions which were agreed upon between their delegation and the government. Villagers with the support of some farmer unions have been holding the protest in front of the plant in Mansurwal village, seeking its closure while claiming that it was polluting underground water in several villages in the area, besides causing air pollution. The protest is being held under the banner of the Sanjha Zira Morcha since July 24. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had on Friday evening held a meeting with a delegation of agitators in Chandigarh to address their issues. While interacting with the protesters on Saturday, Dhaliwal assured them of protecting

Punjab FM opposes any increase in GST on education related goods

Describing any increase in GST on goods related to education a step against the interests of the students, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday opposed the proposal of considering the GST on pencil sharpeners at 18 per cent instead of existing slab of 12 per cent. While participating in the 48th meeting of the GST Council through video conferencing, the point raised by Cheema was also supported by the representatives of many other states, after which the decision in this regard was deferred, according to a Punjab government statement here. "Agreeing on the various recommendation made by the Fitment Committee which meet the interests of both state and nation, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema gave valuable inputs during the GST Council meeting held under the chairpersonship of the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman," said the statement. Opposing another recommendation regarding the change in GST rates for ethyl alcohol supplied to refineries for blending

Punjab ranks 2nd in average monthly income per agricultural household: Govt

As per information, Meghalaya tops across the country with average monthly income per agricultural household (Rs 29,348)

CBI searches 6 locations in Delhi, Punjab and J-K in Visa fraud case

The CBI on Friday searched six locations in Delhi, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir after registering an FIR against several people, including two former workers in the French Embassy here, for alleged visa fraud, officials said. The agency has alleged that Shubham Shokeen and Aarti Mandal, both former workers at the embassy's visa department, committed the fraud in conspiracy with others between January and May. "It was further alleged that in pursuance to the said criminal conspiracy, applicants from Punjab and Jammu submitted fake and forged letters purportedly written by a private company based at Bengaluru to the Consulate General of France, Bengaluru, for issuing entry visas for their joining private companies in Port-Le-Havre, France," a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spokesperson said in a statement. The agency has alleged that Shokeen and Mandal issued the visas to three other accused persons by taking Rs 50,000 as bribe for each visa without the knowledge and approval o

Govt working tirelessly to augment health infrastructure: Punjab Health Min

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government is working tirelessly to augment health infrastructure in the state and 521 new 'Aam Aadmi Clinics' will be thrown open to people in January next year, Punjab Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra said on Friday. In order to ensure that the people get best medical facilities, the Punjab government is working tirelessly to augment health infrastructure in the state, he said. He said in this direction, 521 new Aam Aadmi Clinics will be thrown open for people of the state on January 26, 2023. Presiding over an event in Begowal village in Ludhiana's Payal, the minister said the government is according topmost priority to healthcare and these new 521 clinics will ensure medical services to every people of the state near their doorsteps. "Massive response was given by the people to 100 Aam Aadmi Clinics which were opened on August 15 this year," he said. He alleged that healthcare was completely ignored by previous governments. The mini

Arjas Steel to invest Rs 610 cr to augment capacity to 0.55 million tonne

Arjas Steel, formerly Gerdau Steel, on Wednesday announced a Rs 610 crore capex to increase its annual production capacity to 5.5 lakh tonne, adding over 37.5 per cent to its existing capacity across its Andhra and Punjab plants. The company operates two plants at Tadipatri in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh and at Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab. The Andhra plant has a current capacity of 3 lakh tonne while the Punjab facility, which it acquired in November 2020 for about Rs 100 crore produces 1 lakh tonne per year. Of the total capex, around Rs 350 crore will go into the Tadipatri plant expansion and the rest Rs 260 crore will go into the Punjab unit, Sridhar Krishnamoorthy, managing director said in a statement. The company said the capacity additions will be completed in 2025. Arjas supplies steel to energy, automotive, Railways, and defence units as well as exports. In Tadipatri, investments include a new Kocks sizing block from Germany which will help improve quality and

'Y' category security for cops handling Sidhu Moose Wala murder case

Twelve officers from Delhi Police's Special Cell who handled the murder case of Punjabi Singer Sidhu Moosewala, have been allotted the 'Y' category security protection

Kinnow output in Punjab likely to drop by 25% amid shortage of water supply

Punjab, a major grower of kinnow crop in the country, is likely to witness at least a 25 per cent decline in the output of the citrus fruit even as the growers are fetching higher prices this season. The orchardists blame the acute short supply of canal water and unexpectedly higher temperature during the flowering stage of the crop for the lower yield early this year. Punjab is the largest producer of kinnow fruit in the country, with around 59,000 hectares of land under the crop and almost 12 lakh metric tonne of annual output. Harvesting of kinnow, a hybrid between king and willow leaf mandarins, starts in December and goes on till February-end in Punjab. Abohar is the leading district in the state, with a maximum area of 35,000 hectares under the kinnow crop. It is also grown in Hoshiarpur, Muktsar, Bathinda and some other districts, an official of the Punjab Horticulture department said. "There is going to be around 25 per cent drop in the production of kinnow this year," sai

'Centre's bio-decomposer spray led to decline in stubble burning in Punjab'

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday said stubble burning could be reduced in Punjab this year because the Centre got bio-decomposer sprayed in the agrarian state under corporate social responsibility initiatives. Speaking at an event organised by Aaj Tak, he also criticised the AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab for adopting a two-sided approach to curb farm fires, saying they used bio-decomposer, a microbial solution to decompose paddy straw, in the capital but not in the border state. On Monday, the Union Environment Ministry had announced a 30 per cent drop in the number of farm fires in Punjab and a 48 per cent drop in stubble burning incidents in Haryana this season (September 15-November 30). Since 2020, the Delhi government has been using Pusa bio-decomposer to prevent stubble burning in the capital. Farm fires are a major reason behind a spike in air pollution in Delhi-NCR in October-November. Yadav claimed the AAP government in Delhi spent crores of rup

Punjab agri minister Dhaliwal urges farm body KMSC to withdraw protest call

Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Wednesday urged representatives of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee to withdraw their protest call, assuring them that the state government is striving to resolve the issues of farmers. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) had given a call to lay seize to all toll plazas in the state for a month starting December 15 and also 'gherao' the residences of ministers and AAP MLAs on December 12 in support of their various demands, including farm debt waiver and legal guarantee for minimum support price. After their meeting with the minister, Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of KMSC, said the protest programme will remain as it is. However, he said a meeting of KMSC will be held on December 13 to consider all the issues. Agreeing with the demand of farmers, Dhaliwal said the Punjab government will write a letter to the union government for early resolution of farmers' issues. The minister said the state government has

Foreign-made guns continue to be registered in Punjab despite Centre's ban

In Punjab over 4 lakh weapons including, pistols, revolvers, and guns stand registered to date

BSF recovers drone, 2.5 kg heroin near India-Pakistan border in Punjab

Border Security Force troops have recovered a drone and over two kilograms of heroin from a village near the India-Pakistan border in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, the fourth such recovery in as many days, officials said on Tuesday. At 8:56 pm on Monday, the troop heard the sound of a drone from the Pakistan side when it was hovering over Kalia village. The personnel fired in that direction, and during the search, they recovered 2.47 kg heroin wrapped in a yellow polythene, the officials said. "A metal ring meant for the release of the consignment from the drone was also found attached with it," an official said. The personnel carried out another round of search operation on Tuesday morning during which they found the broken drone lying the field. The BSF troops once again foiled a smuggling attempt, the official said. There has been a spurt in the movement of Pakistani drones near the international border in the last few days. On Monday, the BSF foiled a cross-border drug-smugg

BS-III petrol, BS-IV diesel vehicles ban: Transporters to hold protests

A transporters' body on Monday said it will hold massive protests against the Aam Aadmi Party governments in Delhi and Punjab over the ban on plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles in view of rising pollution levels. The Delhi Taxi and Tourist Transporters Association held a meeting on Monday and decided that they will hold road jams against the Delhi and Punjab governments. They said several tourist buses and taxis from Punjab come to Delhi. The association claimed that it was a "conspiracy" by the Delhi government to ban the BS -III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles and stressed that the ban would impact the tourism business. The Delhi government on Monday imposed a ban on plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in the city till December 9, in view of restrictions clamped by the Centre''s air quality panel under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The sub-committee for implementation of GRAP held a meeting on Sunday to review the air qua