Page 27 - Punjab

Situation normalising day after petrol pumps in Punjab see panic buying

The situation was normalising at petrol pumps on Wednesday in Punjab where fuel supplies were being replenished with fresh stocks, a day after people resorted to panic buying amid truckers' strike. On Tuesday, long queues of motorists were witnessed at many places in Punjab and a few parts of Haryana over fears that stocks would run dry soon in the wake of truckers' strike against stricter punishments in the new law on hit-and-run cases. Later in the evening, authorities in some Punjab districts had said the truckers had called off their strike and urged people not to resort to panic buying. "The situation is normalising now and by evening supplies from depots to all fuel pumps should reach as before. Already, fuel supplies from the depots have started reaching several filling stations," said secretary general of the Punjab Petroleum Dealers Association Rajesh Kumar. He said no long queues like Tuesday were being witnessed at petrol pumps on Wednesday in the state. The administrat

CCI clears Punjab State Power Corp's purchase of GVK Power project

The Competition Commission of India on Tuesday cleared Punjab State Power Corporation's proposed acquisition of GVK Power (Goindwal Sahib) Ltd. GVK Power (Goindwal Sahib) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GVK Energy Ltd, which in turn is the subsidiary of GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd. The combination involves the acquisition of 100 per cent stakeholding of GVK Power (Goindwal Sahib) Ltd by Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL). "CCI approves the proposed acquisition of 100 per cent shareholding of GVK Power (Goindwal Sahib) Limited by Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd," the fair trade regulator said in a post on X. In July last year, PSPCL had filed a bid to take over the 540 MW Goindwal thermal power plant in Tarn Taran after corporate insolvency proceedings were initiated against its owner GVK Power. Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices as well as promotes fair competition in the marketplace.

Punjab govt buys Goindwal Sahib thermal power plant for Rs 1,080 crore

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said the state government has bought a 540-megawatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib. "It is for the first time that a private power plant is being bought by the government," Mann said at a news conference here. "We have purchased it for Rs 1,080 crore, which works out to a cost of Rs 2 crore per megawatt," Mann said. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in July last year filed a bid to take over the 540 MegaWatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib. The 540 MW thermal power plant is an independent power plant and is spread over 1,100 acres of land in Goindwal Sahib in Tarn Taran.

Punjab police forms SIT to probe grounded Nicaragua-bound flight incident

The case pertains to 303 passengers from India, mostly belonging to Punjab and Gujrat in Nicaragua-bound flight, who were detained by French authorities last week

High indebted Punjab, Himachal may breach BE of fiscal deficit in FY24

Punjab had over 40% debt as a proportion of GSDP in 2019-20 too, while Himachal Pradesh had 39.1%

'Wheat sown in 30.86 mn HA, climate resilient seeds planted in 60% area'

After facing loss due to terminal heatwave last year, more farmers are cultivating climate resilient wheat varieties which has been sown in more than 60 per cent of the planted area of 30.86 million hectares so far, according to agriculture commissioner P K Singh. Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop, sowing of which normally begins in November and harvesting is done from March-April. As per the agriculture ministry data, wheat sown area stood at 30.86 million hectares till December 22 of the ongoing rabi season, slightly lower than 31.44 million hectares in the year-ago period. "This is because there was a delay in wheat sowing in some parts where paddy harvesting got late. Otherwise, wheat sowing is progressing well," Singh told PTI. Keeping in mind the terminal heat problem that wheat farmers faced last year, the government this year has promoted climate resilient wheat varieties and kept a target to cover 60 per cent of the total cropped area, he said. "We have exceeded the ta

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Rambagh Gate, Ramparts in Punjab win Unesco's Asia-Pacific Awards

The resilient urban revitalisation of Rambagh Gate and Ramparts in Punjab, and heritage conservation projects related to Haryana's Church of Epiphany and Delhi's Bikaner House won UNESCO awards on Thursday. Twelve projects from China, India, and Nepal were acknowledged by the awards jury in this year's UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. "With people, heritage and creativity at its core, the resilient urban revitalisation of the Rambagh Gate and Ramparts in Punjab, India, has garnered the highest honour, 'Award of Excellence,'" UNESCO Bangkok said in a statement. The project was lauded by the jury for ensuring the continuity of the site's existing uses, while enhancing inclusivity and access to the broader community, it said. Three projects -- the Fanling Golf Course in Hong Kong SAR, China; Dongguan Garden Residences in Yangzhou, China; and Karnikara Mandapam at Kunnamangalam Bhagawati Temple, Kerala, India -- garnered an 'Award of Distinction' each. An

Punjab CM announces 4% dearness allowance hike for govt employees

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced a 4 per cent hike in dearness allowance of government employees with effect from the ongoing month. Following the hike, the DA will increase to 38 per cent, Punjab State Ministerial Services Union (PSMSU) President Amrik Singh said. A decision in this regard was taken following a meeting with the representatives of the PSMSU here. During the meeting, Mann discussed various demands of the employees. "Had a meeting with the representatives of Punjab State Ministerial Service Union today and discussed their issues in detail... Sharing the good news that we are going to give a new year gift to the employees... DA is increased by 4% which will be effective from 1st December 2023," Mann said in a post on X. After the meeting, the PSMSU president said the CM announced 4 per cent DA hike to state government employees. He further said the CM assured that the remaining 8 per cent DA will also be given. The employees had been demanding

Punjab kinnow growers stare at poor income as prices fall amid bumper yield

Unanticipated drop in kinnow rates amid a bumper yield has left growers of the fruit in Punjab staring at very poor gains. Farmers said they are getting Rs 6-10 per kg for their kinnow crop, a steep decline as compared to Rs 20-25 per kg they got last year. They rued that at the current rate, they are not able to recover their input cost, and sought from the government to fix a minimum price for the fruit crop. After two years of low yield because of unexpected high temperatures during the flowering stage of the crop, Punjab is set to achieve a bumper crop this season. Punjab, a major grower of kinnow in the country, is expected to achieve an output of 13.50 lakh metric tonne this season, as against 12 lakh MT in the last season. A total area of 47,000 hectares were brought under the kinnow crop this season. 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

Drug tablets being sold inside jails: Navjot Sidhu slams Bhagwant Mann

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently sought a status report from the Punjab and Haryana governments on the steps taken after the BSF gave a list of 75 individuals

Won't contest 2024 Lok Sabha polls, says Congress leader Navjot Sidhu

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu Saturday said he will not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress leader, however, refrained from saying if his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu will contest the general elections. Sidhu, a former MP, had lost the 2022 assembly elections from Amritsar East seat. "Sidhu is not contesting Lok Sabha (polls)," the former Punjab Congress chief told reporters in Bhatinda. When asked if his wife was going to contest next year's elections, the former cricketer said only she could answer that question. Attacking the AAP government in Punjab over rising debt, law and order, Sidhu accused the Bhagwant Mann government of deviating from burning issues of the state. Sidhu said contractual workers have been holding 'dharnas' demanding the regularisation of their services while government employees are protesting seeking the implementation of the old pension scheme. More than a year has passed since the notification on the OPS has been issued, but the government h

514 drone sightings since 2022, 121 brought down, says Punjab IGP

He underlined how the state police were combining with the Border Security Force (BSF) to clamp down on drug trade and smuggling in the state

SAD chief seeks PM's intervention to ensure cotton procurement at MSP

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and ensure that cotton should be procured at the minimum support price (MSP) in Punjab. In a statement here, the SAD president said it was shocking that instead of giving the MSP of Rs 6,920 a quintal for long-staple cotton, as was done earlier, the Cotton Corporation of India imposed a quality cut of Rs 150 and was giving the assured price of Rs 6,770 per quintal to farmers. Farmers in the Abohar belt were suffering because the CCI was procuring the produce in bits and spurts, he claimed. The procurement was stopped on November 30 and restarted on December 7 only, he said, adding that it again stopped on December 9. Badal said the repeated stoppage of procurement was forcing farmers to sell their crops to private players who were purchasing the produce in the price range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,200 per quintal. Farmers were forced to go in for distress sale as they could

Kejriwal, CM Mann launch scheme in Punjab to deliver services at doorstep

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched the "Bhagwant Mann Sarkar Tuhade Dwar" scheme, aimed at providing citizen-centric services to people at their doorstep, on Sunday. Under the scheme, people will get 43 services, including issuance of certificates of birth, marriage, death, income, residence, caste, rural area, border area, backward area, pension, payment of electricity bills and land demarcation. Addressing a gathering here after the launch of the scheme, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal said it is a historic day not only for Punjab, but also for the country. "The work that is going to commence in Punjab is not less than any revolution. It is a revolutionary step," said Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Mann. "You do not need to go to offices. Your work will be done at your doorstep," he added. Kejriwal said as many as 43 government services will be delivered at the doorstep of people. He said to avail these services, people will h

In Punjab, road accidents caused more deaths in 2021, 2022: NCRB data

Road accidents in Punjab in 2021 and 2022 caused more deaths than injuries, according to the latest NCRB report. However, in neighbouring Haryana, while the number of fatalities were higher than in Punjab, road accidents caused more injuries than deaths, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data showed. Road accidents have generally caused more injuries than deaths. However, in a few states such as Punjab, these have led to a higher number of fatalities than injuries, the data shows. In Punjab in 2022, 6,122 road accidents caused 4,688 deaths and 3,372 injuries. The previous year, 6,097 road accidents caused 4,516 deaths and 3,034 injuries. In Haryana, 10,049 road accidents were reported in 2021. The figure rose marginally to 10,654 in 2022. In 2021, 4,983 people died in Haryana while the figure for 2022 was at 5,228. The accidents caused injuries to 7,972 and 8,353 people, respectively, in the two years. According to the report, accidents are indicators of bottlenecks and ot

BSF recovers made-in China drone near in Punjab's Ferozepur district

As per the information from the press note, the recovered drone is a Quadcopter (Model - DJI Mavic 3 Classic, made in China)

AAP has pushed Punjab into unprecedented crisis: BJP's Tarun Chugh

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Friday alleged the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government has plunged Punjab into an "unprecedented crisis" as he targeted the AAP government on economic and law and order fronts. In a statement, Chugh claimed that anti-national elements are having a free run in the border state, which is a matter of concern. "The Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government has plunged Punjab into an unprecedented crisis. Punjab under the AAP government has collapsed economically and... (there has been a) complete collapse of law and order," the BJP leader said. "The state has been bequeathed to gangsters who are running amok," Chugh said. "Moreover, anti-national elements are having a free play in the border state which is a very serious national concern," he said. The mining mafia, drug dealers and gangsters are having a good time, he charged. Chugh further claimed Punjab already has a debt of Rs 4 lakh crore and it is growing with every passing day. "Th

Punjab Guv Purohit reserves 3 Bills for President Murmu's consideration

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has reserved three Bills, including the one which aims to replace him with the chief minister as the chancellor of state-run universities, for the consideration of the President. The Bills were passed by the state assembly during the June 19-20 session which the governor had earlier termed illegal. "The Hon'ble Governor, Punjab has reserved the following three bills for the consideration of the Hon'ble President of India as per article 200 of the Constitution of India," said a Raj Bhavan statement issued on Wednesday. The three bills, which will be sent to President Droupadi Murmu, are the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023. One more Bill -- the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023 -- was also passed during the June session. While the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill was aimed at ensuring a free-to-air telecast of .

Over 70 students fall ill after eating at Punjab school mess, two arrested

As many as 18 students of a government school in Punjab's Sangrur district were rushed to a hospital as they complained of stomach ache and vomiting after having a meal in the hostel mess, officials said on Saturday. Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the food contractor has been arrested and an inquiry by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) has been ordered in the matter. Eighteen school students of the government meritorious school at Ghabdan were rushed to the civil hospital on Friday evening after they complained of stomach ache and vomiting, an official said. Officials suspect it is a case of food poisoning. Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal on Saturday said 18 students were brought to the civil hospital, of which 14 have been discharged. Four still remain admitted, Jorwal said while speaking to reporters in Sangrur. He further said 36 more students were brought to the civil hospital on Saturday and all of them were stable. They did not report any loose mot