Page 32 - Punjab

Nearly 560 cases of stubble burning reported in Ludhiana so far this year

The Chief Agriculture Officer further said that on November 3 last year, 119 cases of stubble burning were reported, which has been reduced to 59 cases this year

Haryana minister slams Punjab govt over stubble burning; AAP hits back

Haryana Agriculture Minister Jai Prakash Dalal on Saturday slammed the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab over the stubble-burning incidents in the state, prompting a sharp reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party. In his post on X, Dalal shared statistics of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana over the last three days. "We have demanded water from (Arvind) Kejriwal ji and Bhagwant Mann ji, not smoke of paddy stubble, Dalal wrote in Hindi. According to the data shared by the Haryana agriculture and farmers' welfare minister, Punjab witnessed 1,921, 1,668 and 1,551 farm fire incidents on November 1, 2 and 3 while stubble burning incidents in Haryana were 99, 48 and 28 on the three days. Reacting to Dalal's statement, the AAP accused him of "spreading lies". "Twenty out of the 52 most polluted districts in the country are in Haryana and even then the Khattar government is playing politics and blaming Punjab," Punjab AAP unit spokesperson Neel Garg said. The Mann government in Punjab provided

Stubble burning: Punjab sees 1,068 farm fires, highest in a day this season

Punjab reported 1,068 farm fires on Sunday, the highest in a single day in the current harvesting season as paddy growers continue to burn crop residue. Out of 1,068 stubble burning incidents witnessed on Sunday, among the districts Sangrur reported a maximum 181, followed by 155 in Ferozepur, 133 in Tarn Taran, 83 in Patiala and 66 in Mansa, according to the data of the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre. On the same day in 2021 and 2022, the state had seen 1,353 and 1,898 farm fires, respectively. From September 15 till October 29, the state witnessed a total of 5,254 farm fire incidents as against 12,112 such cases in corresponding period last year, showing 57 per cent decline in number of farm fire incidents. The state had reported 8,856 farm fires during the same period in 2021. Out of the total 5,254 farm fires reported so far, Amritsar constituted the bulk of crop residue burning cases at 1,060, followed by 646 in Tarn Taran, 590 in Patiala, 540 in Sangrur and 505

Stubble burning: Centre should provide compensation, says Sukhbir Badal

Haryana Government on Friday released images that they claim are from NASA which shows that there are more than double stubbing burning incidents in Punjab as compared to Haryana on October 25 and 26

With AQI below 50, Shimla attracts tourists from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi

While the AQI stood above 300 in at least 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi on Tuesday, Manali recorded the lowest AQI (6), followed by Kullu (7) and Dharamshala (15) on Wednesday

Punjab govt to constitute industrial advisory commissions for 26 sectors

The Punjab government has recently issued a notification for constituting industrial advisory commissions for 26 sectors aimed at promoting holistic business development in the state. According to the notification, each advisory commission will be headed by a renowned person from the relevant industrial sector who will hold a rank equivalent to that of a cabinet minister. The commission will have industry representatives who will be nominated by the government, it said. The advisory commission is meant for several sectors, including textile, machine tools, sports goods, agri and food processing, rice milling and processing, bicycle and bicycle components, agriculture machinery and equipment, pharmaceuticals, alloys and steel, auto and auto components, and electronics. Information technology, paper and paper-based packaging units, plywood and wood products, hotels and hospitality, plastics and chemical products, logistics, construction materials, retail and service industries, ...

Delay in visa processing expected due to fewer Canadian staff: Consultants

With Canada withdrawing 41 of its diplomats from India amid a diplomatic row between the two countries after the killing of a Sikh separatist, consultants and agents in Punjab apprehend delay in processing of visa applications for that country. Prospective students from Punjab may bear the brunt because of the likely delay in visa, they fear. Canada is the most sought-after nation among the youth from Punjab for studying in various universities there. Last month, India asked Canada to withdraw 41 of its diplomats from the country after the diplomatic row erupted following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation linking Indian agents to the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. India strongly rejected the charges. After their withdrawal of the diplomats, Canada attempted to "portray" it as a violation of international norms, a contention dismissed by India which asserted that ensuring two-way diplomatic parity is fully consistent with the

BJP leader and former Punjab FM Manpreet Badal granted interim bail

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday granted interim bail to former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in Bathinda. Badal had moved the high court after a court in Bathinda rejected his anticipatory bail plea on October 4. His counsel Arshdeep Singh Cheema said the bench of Justice Vikas Bahl granted interim bail to Badal, who is now with the BJP. The Punjab Vigilance bureau had booked Badal and five others in connection with the case. An arrest warrant had earlier been issued by the court in Bathinda against Badal. Several teams of the bureau had conducted raids at various locations in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan but could not trace Badal. The vigilance bureau had launched an investigation into the matter based on former MLA Sarup Chand Singla's 2021 complaint alleging irregularities in the purchase of the property at a prime location in Bathinda. BJP leader

Oppn running away from debate because they looted Punjab: AAP's Cheema

The finance minister also took a jab at the opposition parties on the state's drug issues and said, "It is under the governance of the BJP, Congress and Akali Dal that drugs were spread in Punjab"

No central team to be allowed to survey land for canal in Punjab: FM Cheema

No central team will be allowed to survey land for the SYL canal in Punjab, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said on Saturday. Cheema, who met reporters after a Cabinet meeting, was asked if the Punjab government had received any intimation about a likely central team visit to conduct a survey. "We have not received any information in this regard yet," the AAP leader said and added that if any central team arrives in the state, the Punjab government will strongly oppose the visit and not allow a survey. Cheema's response follows Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prem Singh Chandumajra claiming on Friday that central survey teams would arrive in Punjab on November 1. "We have learnt that central survey teams are expected to come to Punjab on November 1," Chandumajra had said. The Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal was conceptualised for effective allocation of water from the Ravi and the Beas rivers. The project envisages a 214-kilometre canal, of which a 122-kilometre stretch is to be ..

Assembly session on Oct 20-21: Punjab Guv says bound to be illegal

Days after the Bhagwant Mann government called a two-day sitting of the Punjab Assembly, the Governor's Secretariat said that this session -- being projected as an extension of the Budget session -- is "bound to be illegal" and any business conducted during it "unlawful". This is the second time this year that a row between the AAP government and the Raj Nivas has erupted over the summoning of an Assembly sitting. The Raj Nivas reminded the Assembly secretary on Thursday that the governor had a few months ago termed a similar special sitting in June of the budget session as "patently illegal". Punjab officials had earlier said the October 20-21 session would be an extension of the fourth session -- the budget session in March. The session is widely expected to discuss the recent Supreme Court directive over the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal in Punjab, a project which the state is reluctant to complete, claiming that it has no water to spare for neighbouring Haryana.

Freebies: A zero-sum game

The urge to retain hand-outs that perpetuate power equations has left governments with less to spend on the things that really matter to people

The burning problem: Water woes at the centre of Punjab's smoke screen

The first of a two-part series looks at the reasons compelling farmers across Punjab to burn stubble

Latest LIVE: Air India cancels all flights to and from Tel Aviv till Oct 14

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Stubble burning: Punjab records 32 farm fires on Saturday, lowest in Oct

Punjab on Saturday recorded 32 farm fires, the lowest this month, even as the total paddy straw burning cases crossed 870, according to latest data. Punjab had recorded 71 and 62 farm fires on the same day in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Of the 32 stubble burning incidents, Amritsar reported 18 followed by four each in Tarn Taran and Kapurthala. Punjab recorded 123 cases of stubble burning on October 1, followed by 119 on October 2, 105 on October 3, 95 on October 4, 98 on October 5 and 91 on October 6, according to data from the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre. The total cases of farm fires in the state from September 15 to October 7 have risen to 877. Punjab recorded 692 farm fires during the corresponding year-ago period, the data showed. Of the 877 farm fires, Amritsar contrubuted the majority with 537 cases, followed by 120 in Tarn Taran, 51 in Patiala, 50 in Kapurthala, 22 in Mohali and 18 in Sangrur, it showed. Paddy harvesting is underway in many areas of Punj

AAP holds protests across Punjab against Sanjay Singh's arrest by ED

The AAP held protests across Punjab on Friday against the arrest of its Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in connection with alleged irregularities in implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy. Ministers in the Punjab government, AAP MLAs and leaders from the state and the district level took part in the protests, the party said in a statement. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday took into custody Singh -- the second high-profile AAP leader arrested after Manish Sisodia -- in the case related to alleged irregularities in implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy. The AAP termed Singh's arrest as a "dictatorial step" of the Narendra Modi government, the statement said. In Jalandhar's Nakodar, AAP MP Shushil Kumar Rinku, Punjab Minister Balkar Singh, MLA Raman Arora, and other leaders held protests with a large number of party workers. Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak led the protest in Pathankot where AAP workers set fire to an effigy of Modi, the statement ...

Not even single drop of additional water to be shared with any state: Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said not even a single drop of additional water will be shared with any other state at any cost. He further informed that the state cabinet has approved the name of Gurminder Singh for the advocate general's (AG) post. Mann said this after chairing an emergency meeting of the cabinet at his residence here. Though no official agenda of the meeting was released, the council of ministers discussed the Sutlej-Yamuna-Link (SYL) canal issue. Mann said the name of Gurminder Singh was approved for the AG's post at the cabinet meeting. "Also, the SYL issue was discussed at the meeting ... not even a single drop of additional water will be shared with any other state at any cost ... convening the monsoon session (of the state Assembly) soon was also discussed ... approval to several pro-people decisions was given," the chief minister wrote on X. The meeting came a day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in P

Punjab has received over Rs 50,000 crore investments in 18 months: CM Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann Sunday said the state has received investments of more than Rs 50,000 crore in the past one-and-a-half years because of the concerted efforts of his government. Mann also said Punjab has complete communal harmony coupled with congenial atmosphere for industrial growth, which is giving impetus to its overall development and prosperity. The chief minister was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of a Rs 138-crore cattle feed plant here which is to be set up by a Netherlands-based company, said an official statement. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana cultivating traditional crops are looking for ways to diversify their crops, or shift to horticulture, dairy, poultry, fishery, piggery and others for better earnings, said Mann. He said De Heus, an animal feed company, will set up the plant, adding that this is the first major investment by a Dutch company in Punjab. The Netherlands is known to be the second largest exporter of .

INDIA stands like a tall mountain: Navjot Sidhu amid Congress-AAP tension

A Punjab court on Saturday sent Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira to 14-day judicial custody in connection with a 2015 drugs case

Gurdaspur district launches novel initiative to curb stubble burning

Stop stubble burning and get special treatment at government offices. The Gurdaspur district administration has come up with this novel idea to curb crop residue burning, one of the major reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution in the national capital region in October and November. Farmers who abstain from stubble burning will be recognised as environment protectors ('vatavaran de rakhe') and given appreciation certificates. By showing it, they can avoid queues at government offices. Not just farmers, villages which report zero stubble burning in the harvesting season will also get the 'vatavaran de rakhe' certificates and will be prioritised for any development project. The window for sowing wheat, a Rabi crop, is very short after paddy harvest. Hence, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear the crop residue and prepare the sowing of the next crop. With about 31 lakh hectares of paddy sowing area, Punjab produces around 180 lakh to 200 lakh tonnes of paddy st