Adani News

Tag: Punjab

  • Punjab Clears Electricity Subsidy Bill Of Rs 20,200 Cr, Witnesses Revenue Surge

    Punjab Clears Electricity Subsidy Bill Of Rs 20,200 Cr, Witnesses Revenue Surge

    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Friday said the state has cleared its entire electricity subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore for the last financial year and has witnessed a jump in excise and GST revenue.

    Mann, addressing the media here, said the state has registered a revenue of Rs 8,841 crore for the financial year 2022-23, up by 41.41 per cent as against revenue of 2021-22.

    He said his government has set a target of 10,000 crore in excise revenue for the current fiscal, as he criticised the previous governments for allowing “liquor mafia” in the state.

    Mann said that the state has registered a 16.6 per cent jump in the Goods & Services Tax collection, earning Rs 18,126 crore in revenue for the year 2022-23.

    “We are now among the top states in terms of GST collection,” he said.

    Mann said the state has registered a rise of 78 per cent in stamp duty and fee collection in the month of March. The government had earlier announced an exemption of 2.25 per cent on stamp duty and fees on registration of properties.

    The CM said his government has cleared the total electricity subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore for the last financial year, and asserted that the government will ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people.

    “In 2022-23, which is the first year when the Punjab government paid the entire subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. Not even a single penny was pending towards the PSPCL,” he said.

  • BSF recovered 9 kg heroin in Punjab

    BSF recovered 9 kg heroin in Punjab

    Chandigarh (IANS) | The Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday claimed to have seized 9 kg of heroin from near the India-Pakistan border in Punjab’s Amritsar district. BSF personnel posted on the border heard the sound of a suspicious drone intruding into Indian territory from Pakistan near Dhano Kalan village on Tuesday night. As per the prescribed drill, the troops fired at the drone.

    After which Kshetri was searched. During this, they found three large packets wrapped in yellow adhesive tape from the fields of Bachiwind village. On opening the three packets recovered, nine small packets containing about 9.5 kg of heroin were found.

    In another incident, troops on Wednesday recovered five bottles containing suspected amount of heroin hidden in fields near a fence near Mehandipur village in Tarn Taran district.

    As per reports, Punjab shares a 553-km-long international border with Pakistan along a barbed wire fence.

    –IANS

  • Amritpal, who was on the run, now released the video

    Amritpal, who was on the run, now released the video

    Punjab. Amritpal has recently released the video. He has called upon the people of the Sikh community in India and abroad to fight against injustice. He said that his associates have been arrested and NSA has been imposed on them. In the video, fugitive Amritpal can be heard saying that Sikhs have to unite for a greater cause. In the video, Amritpal Singh narrated the incident of March 18. At the same time, he said that the government has tortured all the people, even women and children. The government has not even followed the 24-hour call of Jathedar Akal Takht. Amripal mentioned one of his companions, in which he says that Bajeka was an ordinary Sikh and NSA was also imposed on him.

    Amritpal Singh has appealed to all Sikh organizations around the world to participate in Sarbat Khalsa on Baisakhi. At the same time, he said that the Jathedar should take a stand in this matter and all the Jathedars and Taksals should also participate in Sarbat Khalsa. Fugitive Amritpal further says, I appeal to all the Sikh people in the country and abroad to participate in the Sarbat Khalsa program to be held on Baisakhi. For a long time, our community is engrossed in putting up fronts on small issues. If we have to solve the issues of Punjab, then we have to be together. The way the government has cheated us, it has to be kept in mind. Many comrades have been arrested and NSA has been imposed, many of my comrades have been sent to Assam. That’s why I appeal to all Sikhs to assemble on the occasion of Baisakhi.

    The way the government has created fear among the people, they are ready to participate in this Sarbat Khalsa. This time’s Baisakhi should be historic. Let us tell you that Amritpal has released one of his recorded videos in Punjabi. In this video, Amritpal is once again trying to provoke people. Challenging the police and the system, fugitive Amritpal is saying that the time has come, people should gear up. If you don’t wake up, it will never happen again. At the same time, he is challenging the police once again.

  • Amritpal asks Akal Takht Jathedar to call a gathering of Sikhs to save Punjab

    Amritpal asks Akal Takht Jathedar to call a gathering of Sikhs to save Punjab

    Chandigarh (IANS) | Khalistani hardliner Amritpal Singh on Wednesday released a new video message in which he urged the Jathedar of Akal Takht to call Sarbad Khalsa (congregation of Sikhs) to save Punjab on Baisakhi (April 13). He said that he has not been arrested yet. Attacking Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab Police, Amritpal Singh strongly criticized the arrest of Sikh youths.

    In the video, Amritpal Singh said that he managed to escape from the police on March 18 and is safe. He also expressed his desire to surrender.

    The police is expecting him to surrender at the Akal Takht or Takht Damdama Sahib in Amritsar. Security has been increased at both the places.

    Earlier on Tuesday night, in a village near Hoshiarpur town, Amritpal Singh and his henchman Papalpreet Singh once again dodged the Punjab Police.

    An official told IANS that an Innova vehicle was intercepted by the police at a naka but they managed to escape in the dark. There were three people including Amritpal Singh in it.

    Police was following the car from Phagwara. The car was later found abandoned near Gurudwara Bhai Chanchal Singh on Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road, with the occupants fleeing on foot.

    Police have cordoned off villages in Hoshiarpur district and are conducting house-to-house searches.

    A video of Amritpal Singh and Papalpreet Singh surfaced on Tuesday, in which they are roaming in a Delhi street without turbans and masks.

    A day earlier, the advocate general of the state had told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the police was close to arresting Amritpal Singh.

    The High Court was hearing a petition seeking his release by a person who claimed that Amritpal Singh was under illegal detention in Jalandhar.

    The Advocate General clarified that Amritpal Singh has not been arrested and the police is making all efforts to arrest him.

    He said, Punjab is going through a sensitive phase and it involves national security. Thus, the arguments given should be confined to the arguments raised in the habeas corpus petition.

    After hearing the counsel for both the parties, Justice N.S. Shekhawat asked the counsel for the petitioner to show proof that Amritpal Singh was in illegal custody of the police.

    He said that the state has a clear stand that Amritpal Singh has not been arrested.

    Amritpal Singh has been evading arrest since March 18, changing his location repeatedly.

    –IANS

  • Untitled post 3419

    Mohali (IANS) | Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday stressed the need for modernization of the police force on scientific lines, saying it was the need of the hour to redress people’s grievances through online service at their doorsteps. Addressing the gathering after launching a chat bot number 9517795178 to report missing and abused children and inaugurating a stakeholder workshop on ‘Working together for the rights of women and children’, she said that Punjab Police has an illustrious legacy of serving the nation by making innumerable sacrifices.

    He said that apart from discharging its basic duty of maintaining law and order, the police has always protected the interests of the country and its people.

    Mann said that in the changing scenario, the challenges for the force have increased manifold, due to which comprehensive reform in its functioning is the need of the hour.

    He said that apart from keeping an eye on law and order, the police force also needs to focus on community policing. He said that though many path-breaking initiatives have already been taken, but more such efforts need to be made for the convenience of the people.

    Citing the example of Sangrur parliamentary constituency, the Chief Minister said that the government has started the work of installing state-of-the-art CCTVs to keep an eye on every nook and corner of the district.

    He announced that this would be replicated across the state, so that the law and order situation could be effectively monitored, thereby reducing the burden on the police.

    –IANS

  • NSA invoked against Amritpal Singh, Punjab govt tells HC

    NSA invoked against Amritpal Singh, Punjab govt tells HC

    Chandigarh: The stringent National Security Act has been invoked against Amritpal Singh, the Punjab government on Tuesday told the high court which rapped it over the “intelligence failure” that led to the pro-Khalistan preacher giving police the slip.

    The Punjab and Haryana High Court was hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by advocate Imaan Singh Khara, seeking the “release” of Amritpal Singh from alleged police custody.

    Justice N S Shekhawat asked Punjab Advocate General Vinod Ghai how Amritpal Singh gave police the slip when the whole operation was meticulously planned and called it an intelligence failure, a lawyer said.

  • Action on Amritpal Singh: Punjab Police slaps NSA against five people

    Action on Amritpal Singh: Punjab Police slaps NSA against five people

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police on Monday said it has invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against five people linked to radical preacher Amritpal Singh’s ‘Waris Punjab De’.

    Addressing the media here, Punjab Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill further said the preacher was on the run and efforts were on to nab him.

    He said six FIRs have so far been registered and 114 people arrested in the crackdown against elements of the Waris Punjab De outfit.

    Gill also said that police suspect an “ISI angle” and foreign funding in the matter.

    The NSA has been invoked against five people linked to the outfit, he said in response to a question.

    The stringent law has been invoked against four detenues — Daljit Singh Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Pradhanmantri’ Bajeke, who have been shifted to the Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam.

    He further said that the NSA has also been invoked against Harjit Singh, who surrendered on Saturday night in Jalandhar.

    Harjit Singh, the uncle of Amritpal Singh, will also be taken to Dibrugarh Central Jail, the police said.

    In the wake of the action against the radical preacher, Gill said police were taking out flag marches in the state and peace committee meetings were being held in all districts.

    There is complete peace in Punjab, he added.

    The official also urged people not to lend ears to rumours and fake news, saying strict action will be taken against those found involved in the same.

    The police on Saturday launched a major crackdown against Amritpal and members of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’.

    The elusive preacher, however, gave police the slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Jalandhar district.

  • Heavy loss to potato growers of Punjab due to low prices, sought help from the government

    Heavy loss to potato growers of Punjab due to low prices, sought help from the government

    Potato growers of Punjab are staring at heavy losses on account of very low prices they are fetching for their produce and urged the state government to extend help in this tough time.

    According to growers, they are getting Rs 4-4.50 per kg for the produce as against Rs 17 to 18 per kg received last year.

    With the farmers being unable to recover their input cost due to low prices, they are storing it in cold storage in anticipation of prices rising in the coming months.

    Punjab this season brought 1.14 lakh hectares of area under the tuber crop and registered a bumper output of 31.50 lakh metric tonnes.

    Punjab is the largest producer of seed potatoes and supplies the crop to many states including West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

    According to farmers, prices have crashed due to a bumper crop in other potato-growing states.

    “Rates of potatoes crashed at the start of this season. It is because of bumper crop in potato growing states in the country,” rued potato grower Harbans Singh Walia. Walia grows potatoes over 25 to 30 acres of land in Mansoorwal village in Kapurthala district.

    He also said there was less demand for potatoes in other states like West Bengal and Gujarat this season. Walia is waiting for traders to buy his crop and till then he has kept it in cold storage.

    Potato growers said they are the main sufferers because of the drastic drop in prices and demanded from the state government to fix a minimum price of crop in mandis so the crop should not be sold below that rate which will help growers to recover at least their input cost.

    It is the middlemen who are making money, said Jalandhar-based farmer Raghubir Singh.

    According to growers, a farmer incurs Rs 7 to 8 per kg as input cost on potato crop. They lamented that with the prevailing rates, they were not unable to recover their input cost.

    “Our input cost is Rs 7-8 per kg and we are facing 50 per cent losses,” said another Jalandhar-based grower J S Sangha.

    Facing heavy losses in the wake of low prices, potato growers urged the state government to come forward and extend assistance to them.

    Kapurthala-based farmer Harbans Walia said, “The state government should offer freight subsidy so growers can sell it in other states. There should be a subsidy on electricity consumed in cold storages.” Punjab’s Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr are major potato-growing districts in the state.

    Early table variety potato crop is harvested in November and December. The harvesting of table and seed potatoes also takes place in February and March in Punjab.

    Punjab’s Pukhraj, Kufri Jyoti and some other varieties of seed potatoes are quite in demand in other states.

  • Police send team to arrest radical preacher Amritpal, Internet shut down in Punjab state

    Police send team to arrest radical preacher Amritpal, Internet shut down in Punjab state

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police is learnt to have launched a crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh on Saturday detaining six of his supporters.

    There were some reports suggesting that the self-styled Sikh preacher too had been detained near Nakodar but no official confirmation has come in this regard so far.

    Internet services have been suspended across the state till 12 noon Sunday, said a senior official of the Home affairs department.

    Amripal’s cavalcade was intercepted by police in Mehatpur village in Jalandhar district on Saturday.

    Some supporters of ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief shared some videos on social media claiming that policemen were chasing them. A video also showed Amritpal sitting in a vehicle and one of his aides could be heard saying policemen were after ‘Bhai Saab (Amritpal).

    Another supporter in a field shared a video in which he was claiming that policemen were after him. A heavy police force was involved in the entire operation.

    Meanwhile, Punjab Police asked people to maintain peace and harmony. “Request all citizens to maintain peace & harmony Punjab Police is working to maintain Law & Order. Request citizens not to panic or spread fake news or hate speech,” it said in a tweet.

    Last month, Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of the Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of one of Amritpal’s aide.

    During the incident, six policemen including a Superintendent of Police rank officer had suffered injuries.

  • internet service closed in punjab

    internet service closed in punjab

    Chandigarh| Internet services were suspended in several parts of Punjab on Saturday till 12 noon on Sunday amid reports of the arrest of Khalistani sympathizer Amritpal Singh.

    Some supporters of ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh shared some videos on social media claiming that policemen were chasing them.

    At least six associates of Amritpal Singh have been detained.

    Amritpal Singh is running separatist propaganda through speeches.

    On 23 February, an armed mob led by Amritpal Singh clashed with the police and laid siege to a police station near Amritsar, demanding the release of a colleague who had been detained in an alleged case of kidnapping .

    Six policemen were injured in this clash.

    Police officials later clarified that they were unable to control the crowd, as they were carrying a physical copy of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib as a shield.

    As the internet has been shut down, the Punjab Police has urged people to maintain peace and harmony and not spread fake news.

    Punjab Police tweeted, Punjab Police is working to maintain law and order.

    The government said, all mobile internet services (except banking and mobile recharge), all SMS services and all dongle services provided over mobile networks except voice calls in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab will be suspended from March 18 (12) in the interest of public safety. :00 PM) till March 19 (12:00 PM).

    –IANS