Smita

Another close aide of state BJP chief Kamal Sharma, Arvinder Singh Chinna alias Pothi was today named as an accused in the FIR 158 dated August 5, lodged at the City police station. The FIR pertains to the bribery case against some local BJP leaders and their aides. Poth is reportedly an OSD (officer on special duty) to Sharma. Sources said Pothi…[Read more]

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) and the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union today launched a five-day agitation in district headquarters of the Malwa belt in Punjab to protest against the alleged anti-farmer policies of the Centre and the state government. They staged protests at Moga, Barnala, Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur, Faridkot, Fazilka, Ferozepur, and…[Read more]

Rejecting the assertion that NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) nutrient ratio of 4:2:1 is an ideal combination for an agrarian state such as Punjab, an expert from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today said the ideal combination and ratio was dependent on the quality of the soil of a particular area or region. “There cannot be a f…[Read more]

The failure on part of the Patiala Municipal Corporation to implement the solid waste management project in the city, despite being open defecation-free city, pushed Patiala to 304 on the list of 467 cities in the country and eight among 16 cities in the survey conducted by the Union Urban Development Ministry. The solid waste management plant…[Read more]

The state’s SAD-BJP government is banking on BiPaSa (Bijli, Paani and Sadak) to help it stake a third chance at forming the government. For this, the state government has earmarked Rs 6,000 crore, only for regeneration of its cities. However, even as the Punjab Government was giving a final shape to its urban regeneration proposals, the ranking o…[Read more]

Aam Aadmi Party’s state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur’s warning to Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi to abstain from criticising the party least he too may be expelled has led a fresh war of words between the two leaders. Both leaders have been at loggerheads since long and are often seen challenging each others’ credentials. Chhotepur’s stateme…[Read more]

A number of candidates for the posts of Senior Assistant in the General Administration have sought a high-level probe into the tests held in January and June this year. Alleging irregularities, the candidates have sought cancellation of the recruitment process and sought action against the guilty. Independent MLAs from Ludhiana, Simarjit Bains and…[Read more]

The state today offered a plug and play industrial park adjoining the international airport, Mohali, exclusively to prospective South Korean investors for setting up their ventures in the state. Announcing this here today during a high-level interaction with a South Korean delegation which was presided over by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh…[Read more]

The Punjab Government has issued orders to all departments in the state not to use photographs of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister or any other minister in public advertisements, on stationery, cards, vehicles or in any other form. Balwant Singh, Joint Secretary, Department of General Administration (DGA), Punjab, issued directions (vide…[Read more]

The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has allotted contract to a French company to install air pollution monitoring system at the Golden Temple. However, the ambitious Union government project is running behind the schedule. While accepting some delay in the project, Dr Charanjit Singh, deputy director, Public Relations, PPCB, said, “The air p…[Read more]

Ruling out any possibility of formation of a separate party by him, the Congress’ Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Capt Amarinder Singh, today accepted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was very active at the ground level, but the Congress would be able to strike a chord with the youth of the state. Amarinder also rejected a suggestion extended by f…[Read more]

Punjab, which has drawn flak as a drugs infested state, is relegated to the second spot in the country in terms of number of cases registered under the NDPS Act. Mahrashtra registered the highest number of cases under the Act in 2014. The state, however, tops the country in the number of policemen convicted for helping prisoners escape. Twelve…[Read more]

A three-member committee, constituted by the state government, to look into the alleged irregularities while allowing admission to over 700 students in 46 nursing colleges, has prima facie found that rules and regulations were overlooked during admissions. The committee, comprising Secretary, Personnel; Secretary, Vigilance; and Secretary, General…[Read more]

The restoration work in the Golden Temple has slowed down as the SGPC is finding it tough to handle the rush of devotees in the shrine. Sources said the restoration of artwork and gold work on the walls and the ceilings of the first floor was almost complete. Now, it is being covered with glass to prevent it from getting damaged in the future.…[Read more]

To bail thousands of sugarcane growers of the state, the government has sought a subsidy of Rs1000 per quintal on sugar manufactured by its 16 private and cooperative sugar mills. Agriculture Minister Tota Singh has shot off a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on the matter. The Centre has called a meeting of senior…[Read more]

The role of some taxation officials is under the scanner following the detection of a bogus paddy purchase scam in which two-wheelers and oil tankers were shown as vehicles carrying paddy outside Punjab. The Department of Excise and Taxation, Punjab, has imposed a tax of around Rs 10 crore on M/s Sahoowalia Rice Mill, Gurdaspur, for bogus purchase…[Read more]

An act of honouring secretary, North Zone, RSS, with a siropa (a robe of honour) at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, on August 15 has stirred a controversy.
Two SGPC employees, Sewak Singh, a sewadar, and Harmander Singh, a security member, have been ordered to undergo punishment for their act of religious “misconduct”. Besides, Kulwant Sin…[Read more]

The Congress is set to take on the SAD-BJP government over the non-payment of dues to sugarcane farmers by sugar mills in the state. Two top Congress leaders, Capt Amarinder Singh and Partap Singh Bajwa, have chalked out separate protest programmes to seek early payment to cane farmers. While Bajwa will hold protests in front of sugar mills,…[Read more]

The Gobindpura thermal plant land compensation scam, which got five revenue officials of Mansa chargesheeted in May, has got murkier. The issue of wrongly giving government jobs to outsiders had cropped up earlier. Now, many irregularities have emerged in the compensation paid for borewells and motor pumps. In documents — that are in the p…[Read more]

Even three deaths due to gastroenteritis and diarrhoea in Preet Nagar were not enough to make the municipal corporation ensure that it was supplying safe drinking water to the area in the first week of August. The first death due to water contamination was reported in Preet Nagar on July 31, followed by a fatality each on August 2 and 4. Even as…[Read more]