Tag: Punjab

Punjab govt offices to operate from 7.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. till July 15

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Chandigarh: In a historic decision, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday announced change in the timings of government offices from the existing 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 7.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in larger public interest.
Announcing the decision, Mann said that the revised timings will come into effect from May 2 and will remain in place till July 15.
The Chief Minister said the decision has been taken to benefit the common people for easily getting their work done at government offices during the scorching heat in the ensuing summer season.

Mann said the decision has been taken after due consultation with all the stakeholders so that the welfare of all can be ensured.
Giving more details, the Chief Minister said that the move will also enable the common man to finish his work early morning without taking leave from his work.
Likewise, he said that the decision will also facilitate the employees as they will be able to attend social functions after office hours. Similarly, Mann said that the employees will also be able to spend more time with their children who will also come home from school around the same time.
The Chief Minister said that this decision will be applicable to all the offices of Punjab government.
He envisioned that this will also help in saving around 300-350 MW power, as a considerable chunk of power is being consumed by government offices.

Mann said that as per the data of PSPCL, the peak load of the board starts after 1 p.m.
The Chief Minister also said that the new timings will ensure that maximum sunlight is utilised by the masses.
The state government will take more such citizen-centric decisions in the coming days, Mann said.
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#Punjab #govt #offices #operate #a.m #p.m #July
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 8, 2023
Kashmiri Youth Goes Missing From Punjab

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SRINAGAR: A young man from North Kashmir’s Kupwara district has gone missing in Ludhiana city of the northern Indian state of Punjab.
Firdous Ahmed Peer, a resident of the Muqam Dardpora Kralpora area of Kupwara, went missing on February 17th of this year, and his family has been unable to locate him since then.
The family, including the youth’s mother and sister, went to the Press Enclave Srinagar to draw the media’s attention to the matter. One of the relatives told the news agency KNT that Firdous had been working in a hotel in Ludhiana, where he had gone with a friend from Anantnag. The hotel authorities informed them that Firdous was untraceable since February 17th.
Another relative claimed that Ludhiana police are not taking the matter seriously. “We have repeatedly visited the Ludhiana police station, but the officers are not paying serious attention, and no effort is being made to locate our missing family member,” he said.
The protesting family has urged the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Kupwara district administration to raise the matter with the Punjab Police. [KNT]

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#Kashmiri #Youth #Missing #Punjab
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 6, 2023
10 centres soon to impart free training for UPSC exams: Punjab CM Mann

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Patiala: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Wednesday said his government will open 10 centres for providing training to youngsters free of cost for competitive exams of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
He was addressing a gathering after the launch of the ‘CM di yogshala’ programme with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“We will start a new programme whereby we will open 10 centres for providing training to youth for UPSC tests free of cost. Become IPS and IAS officers, and take decisions,” Mann said.

He said the target of his government was to ensure that the youth of the state sit in high offices.
Mann said the ‘CM di Yogshala’ initiative of his government will act as a stepping stone for carving out a healthy, vibrant, prosperous and progressive Punjab.
This citizen-centric project is the brainchild of the Delhi chief minister and attained a lot of popularity among people, he said.
Mann also said a large number of people in the national capital benefited from this initiative.
People can dial toll free number 7669 400 500 for free yoga training, said Mann, adding that it is a path-breaking initiative aimed at creating a mass movement to carve out a healthy and prosperous Punjab.

The chief minister said the state government is giving major fillip to sports for channelising the unbounded energy of the youth in a positive direction.
He said the sports event ‘Kheda Watan Punjab dian’ was a step forward towards this direction only.
The state government has dedicated more than 500 ‘Aam Aadmi’ clinics across the state to impart quality health services in the state, Mann said.
So far 21.21 lakh patients have benefited from these clinics, he said, adding that lakhs of patients have undergone free tests in merely a few months.
In a relief to the farmers of the state, the government has announced 25 per cent upward revision in the compensation for the crop loss due to inclement weather, he said.
Speaking on this occasion, Kejriwal said for the first time, a compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre will be given to affected growers in Punjab.
Kejriwal said when crops got damaged during the previous regimes, only announcements of compensation were made and farmers used to complain of not getting cheques of compensation.
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#centres #impart #free #training #UPSC #exams #Punjab #Mann
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 5, 2023
AAP demands closure of toll plazas in Karnataka, just like Punjab

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Bengaluru: Aam Aadmi Party’s Karnataka state communication in-charge Brijesh Kalappa on Wednesday demanded closure of toll plazas in the state, on the lines his party’s government in Punjab.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s state office, Kalappa said, “Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann are going to each toll plaza and verifying — What was in the PPP type agreement, how much money should have been collected, how much money has been collected, which toll should have been closed, and later they are taking appropriate action.”
“Eight toll plazas have been shut down since the AAP government came to power in Punjab. But in Karnataka, for the greed of commission, the toll plazas continue to function despite the expiry of the period,” he claimed.

“Action should be taken against many toll plazas whose term has expired, including the Tumkur toll plaza where 20 years tenure has elapsed. The tolls are added burden to the people who are already troubled by the hike in petrol prices,” said Kalappa.
“We had said that the Bangalore-Mysore Expressway is not a ten-lane but a six-lane one. Later, the government also accepted this. Toll was not levied when the highway was converted from two lanes to four lanes.
“In the same way, even now when six-lanes are made from four lanes, it should have helped the common people without charging toll. It would have then made sense if the government had boasted of giving roads for free.
While the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi has opened swimming pools in government schools, swimming pools are getting created on their own on the roads developed by the BJP government,” said Kalappa.

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#AAP #demands #closure #toll #plazas #Karnataka #Punjab
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 5, 2023
348 people held during Amritpal crackdown freed, Punjab govt tells Akal Takht

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Chandigarh: The Punjab government has informed the Akal Takht that 348 of the 360 people taken into preventive custody during a police crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh have now been freed.
The Akal Takht Jathedar’s personal secretary Jaspal Singh on Thursday said a message was received from the state government that the rest would also be released soon.
Earlier this week, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh had given an ultimatum to the state government to release all Sikh youths held during the police crackdown against Amritpal Singh and his aides.
The Jathedar had also condemned the state government for invoking the National Security Act against a few people during the police crackdown.
A few days prior to the Jathedar’s ultimatum, the Punjab Police had said that out of those detained, nearly 30 were hardcore criminals. The rest would be released after verification, a senior police official had said.
Meanwhile, police have stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines the Golden Temple in Amritsar or the Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.
Vehicles are being checked at several places in other districts, including Hoshiarpur, in search of the head of ‘Waris Punjab De’.
Amritpal, who has been on the run since March 18 when the police crackdown was launched, appeared in a video on Wednesday.

In the undated clip, he urged the Akal Takht to summon a “sarbat khalsa” a congregation of Sikhs to discuss issues concerning the community.
The Punjab Police on Tuesday night launched a massive search operation in a Hoshiarpur village and many adjoining areas following inputs that radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his aides could be in the area.
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#people #held #Amritpal #crackdown #freed #Punjab #govt #tells #Akal #Takht
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 30, 2023
Punjab: Sidhu Moosewala’s father receives death threat

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Mansa (Punjab): The father of late Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moosewala, Balkaur Singh, on Sunday alleged that he was threatened once again through an email saying that he would be killed soon.
“I’ve received threats on email from Rajasthan saying that I’ll be killed soon, so don’t take Lawrence Bishnoi’s name”, alleged Moosewala’s father.
Previously also, Balkaur Singh alleged that he was threatened and said that he will be killed before April 25.
“What wrong am I doing? Should I not fight my son’s case? I was threatened on February 18, 24 and 27 that I will be killed before April 25…I would like to tell the Government, to take back my security, I will continue to fight,” he added.
According to the police, a case has been registered against unknown people for threatening Moosewala’s father.
On March 7, Singh held a protest outside the Punjab Assembly and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the murder of his son.
Speaking to media persons outside the Punjab Assembly, Singh said no investigation is happening in his favour.
“In the last 10 months, I went to Police and Administration several times. I was assured. But what’s happening here is being done to brush under the carpet the murder of my child. Nothing is going in my favour. So, I had to come to Assembly,” said the father of the late singer.

He questioned the government about action taken against the gangster Goldy Brar.
“CBI should investigate the matter…Who are these gangsters (arrested in the case), they are just henchmen. They took the money and shot him dead. The mastermind, who targeted my son…what action is being taken against Goldy Brar?” he asked.
Sidhu Moosewala, 28, was shot dead on May 29 last year in Mansa, a day after the state government curtailed his security cover.
The Punjabi singer was shot at point-blank range and declared dead on arrival at the Mansa civil hospital.
The assailants fired over 30 rounds at Moosewala, who was found slumped in the driver’s seat by locals.
The investigation suggested gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was the mastermind of the daylight killing. His close aide Goldy Brar, who is said to be based in Canada, was also under investigation in this case. Police issued a Red Corner Notice against Brar through Interpol.
The incident occurred two days after Punjab Police withdrew the security cover of 424 persons, including that Moosewala.
Moosewala had fought an election from Mansa in the last Assembly election on a Congress ticket but was defeated by AAP’s Vijay Singla.
On November 23, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Bishnoi in a case related to the alleged conspiracy to recruit youth to carry out terror strikes in Delhi and other parts of the country.
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#Punjab #Sidhu #Moosewalas #father #receives #death #threat
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 26, 2023
Punjab govt won’t hesitate in taking tough decisions on Amritpal Singh: Delhi CM

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Jalandhar: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab will not hesitate in taking tough decisions to maintain law and order as he asserted that those who were trying to spoil the atmosphere in the state are on the run.
Kejriwal’s remarks come in the wake of Punjab police action against radical preacher Amritpal Singh and elements of an outfit, headed by him, named ‘Waris Punjab De.’
AAP supremo Kejriwal along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was in Jalandhar, where the crackdown on the Khalistan sympathizer began on Saturday, to lay the foundation stone of Sri Guru Ravidas Bani Adhyan Centre at Dera Sachkhand Ballan here.
Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal said whoever tries to disturb peace in Punjab will not be spared. “In the past few days, you saw how some people tried to disturb peace in Punjab,” he said.
“We do not have to allow the atmosphere to be spoiled at any cost,” he said, adding, “We have to maintain peace, law, and order in Punjab.”
Kejriwal said the Mann government took tough decisions to maintain peace in the state.
“Sometimes, tough decisions have to be taken. But if our AAP government in Punjab under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann will have to take tough decisions then we will not hesitate from taking them,” he added.
“Mann saab took tough decisions, but without a bullet being fired and blood being shed peace is maintained in entire Punjab today,” he said.

Amritpal Singh has been on the run after the police crackdown began. Several images and videos have shown him taking multiple vehicles to dodge police. The Punjab government has slapped the strictest National Security Act against him and some of his associates.
While the fugitive’s whereabouts are still unknown, Punjab police say efforts are on to nab him.
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#Punjab #govt #wont #hesitate #tough #decisions #Amritpal #Singh #Delhi
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 25, 2023
Pakistan’s Election Commission postpones Punjab elections to October 8

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Lahore: Pakistan’s electoral watchdog on Wednesday postponed election in the Punjab province — originally scheduled for April 30 to October 8 — citing an abysmal law and order situation in the country.
The assemblies in Punjab and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces were dissolved on January 14 and 18 respectively by the erstwhile governments of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
In its order, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that it “hereby withdraws the election programme and fresh schedule will be issued in due course of time with poll date on October 8.”
The ECP said the decision was taken after briefing of the government and different departments and intelligence agencies informed that “the law and order situation in the country don’t permit to hold elections at any province at this point of time.”
On March 1, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled that elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies, as stipulated by the Constitution.
In the letter to President Dr Arif Alvi, the ECP proposed April 30 as the date for elections in Punjab.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor Ali fixed May 28 as the date for polls in the province but subsequently backtracked on his decision while calling for “key challenges” to be addressed before a new date is announced.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said there were differing opinions on conducting elections, and parliament needed guidance from the government and other institutions in this regard.

“Regarding the 90-day limit in the Constitution, I mentioned that April 30 is beyond that timeframe but have elections not been held after 90 or 60 days in the past?” Sanaullah asked.
Khan, 70, who came to power in 2018, is the only Pakistani Prime Minister to be ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022.
Since his ouster, he has stepped up the ante on the ruling coalition to announce snap polls.
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#Pakistans #Election #Commission #postpones #Punjab #elections #October
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 23, 2023
Punjab Cong chief comes down heavily on AAP govt over Amritpal Singh issue

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In a statement, he said people’s trust and confidence in the state government was at its lowest ebb ever in history.
“It won’t be any exaggeration that Bhagwant Mann is spearheading the most inept state government in the country which hurtles towards a new embarrassment every new day,” Warring said, adding that the absence of governance in Punjab is a matter of concern for every Punjabi.
He said there are tell tale signs that the state government’s intelligence failed miserably in catching the Khalistan sympathiser even after such ‘meticulous’ planning as is being claimed by the state government.
Notably, the Punjab Police on Wednesday reiterated that they are making all-out efforts to trace Amritpal against whom a lookout circular and a non-bailable warrant had been issued.
“Our efforts are on to arrest him,” he said.
After the police crackdown against elements of ‘Waris Punjab De’ on Saturday, the Khalistan sympathiser switched from Mercedes car to Brezza SUV and later went to a gurdwara in Nangal Ambian village in Jalandhar from where he escaped along with three others on two bikes.
Warring also wrote to Punjab’s Director General of Police, saying he had earlier too written two letters drawing attention to the “growing concern of Punjabis regarding the Amritpal Singh issue and about him getting emboldened with every passing day”.
“I am very sure if you would have cautioned the Punjab government on the urgency of the matter and had the government been serious about the damage he was inflicting on the law and order situation by misguiding the youth of Punjab, the present-day situation could have been avoided.

“..I have always been appreciative of the capabilities of Punjab Police under your able leadership as Director General, but I am dumb struck and aghast at the failure of the Punjab Police.
“I am sure that Amritpal must have been under police surveillance for his anti national activities for quite some time. As per the information in public domain, he is said to have escaped by switching vehicles and changing dresses..,” the letter stated.
Warring mentioned that to allegedly cover up this failure of Punjab Police to nab Amritpal Singh, the police is rounding up a large number of youths who are branded as associates of Waris Punjab De chief.
“No doubt some young boys must have been misguided by his religious sermons, yet I feel that branding them as hardcore anti-national elements will further alienate these young people from mainstream and may push them to become hardliners, which Punjab can ill afford at this juncture.
“We do not support any leniency towards anti-national elements or criminals, but a soft approach is needed to bring these misguided youth back into the mainstream and rehabilitate them,” he added.
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#Punjab #Cong #chief #heavily #AAP #govt #Amritpal #Singh #issue
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 23, 2023
VHP lauds AAP govt in Punjab, Centre for ‘willpower’ against Amritpal

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New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday praised the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab as well as the Centre for investigation against punjab-de”>Waris Punjab De leader Amritpal Singh.
At a celebration of the Hindu New Year, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Working President Alok Kumar said the Punjab government had shown “willpower and determination” in action against Amritpal Singh and his aides.
“In the past two days, the willpower and determination showed by Punjab, and the way the Centre and Punjab have together taken those challenging India’s integrity head-on, it is something to celebrate. Some people have started running businesses in the name of Khalistan, this should be banned immediately,” said VHP’s President Kumar.
“The best thing in this matter is that the people of Punjab are no longer with any kind of extremism, efforts should be made to stop any kind of extremism to them,” he added.
Criticising the abroad protests and attacks on Indian missions in the UK by alleged pro-Khalistan elements, Alok Kumar lauded the Centre for registering its protest with London over it.
He said, “At present, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an Indian and a proud Hindu. At this time we all have to come together and agree that the nation’s issues cannot be issues of dispute. All parties must come together and take a stand as one on the issue of the new business of Khalistan in Canada and the UK.”
VHP general secretary Milind Parande, who also addressed the gathering, said, “Given the “conducive” environment for Hindutva, the organisation had made significant expansion. It had made significant expansion, growing by “100% in the past year”.
Parande said the VHP had reached 1.33 lakh villages while 72 lakh people had joined it.

VHP international joint general secretary Surendra Jain said, “It is a well-known fact that the Hindu community is currently representing every evolutionary region of the world, that is why some people are making objectionable comments on Hindu religion, Hindu scriptures and Hindu great men.”
He said that even these people themselves know that they are fighting a losing battle.
Recently, intensifying his attack on Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of Indian democracy in London, Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda said the leader whose party is being rejected by the public is saying that democracy is “under attack”.
Nadda also stated, “It’s unfortunate that the Congress party is indulging in anti-national activities. After being repeatedly rejected by the nation, Rahul Gandhi has now become a permanent part of this anti-nationalist toolkit.”
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#VHP #lauds #AAP #govt #Punjab #Centre #willpower #Amritpal
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 22, 2023