PUNJAB GOVT PROVIDES JOBS TO 30 KINS OF FARMERS DIED DURING ANTI-FARM LAWS PROTEST

* Gurmeet Singh Khudian hands over appointment letters to 38; among these 8 received job in Animal Husbandry & Dairy Development

CHANDIGARH, September 20:In a heartening move by the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led state Government, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Friday distributed appointment letters to 30 persons from the families of farmers, who lost their lives during the protests against the farm laws. Among these, 25 will serve as clerks, while five will work as Sewadars in the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department.

Additionally, the appointment letters were handed over to eight more youths including two Veterinary Inspectors and four clerks, with three clerks being appointed on compassionate grounds, in the Animal Husbandry department and two stenographers received appointment letters in the Dairy Development department.

While congratulating the newly recruited officials, S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian exhorted them to work for the development of Punjab and to give their utmost to ensure transparent and efficient delivery of services to the people of the state.

He further mentioned that the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government has provided 44,974 government jobs in various departments so far. He emphasised that this recruitment process has been carried out solely based on merit, following a completely transparent procedure.

Director Agriculture Jaswant Singh, Director Animal Husbandry Dr. Gursharanjit Singh Bedi, Director Dairy Development Kuldeep Singh and other officials were also presented on the occasion.

========================================

Vigilance Bureau arrests Patwari taking Rs 25,000 bribe

Chandigarh, September 20, 2024 -The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, on Friday, has apprehended Patwari Anil Narula, posted at revenue halka village Jassian, district Ludhiana for demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 25,000.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the above mentioned Patwari has been arrested on a complaint lodged by Major Singh, a resident of New Amar Nagar, in Ludhiana city.

He further informed that the complainant has approached the VB and alleged in his complaint that the said accused had demanded Rs 25,000 for providing 25 years revenue record for mutation of his ancestral land. After a preliminary enquiry of this complaint a VB team of economic offences wing (EOW) Ludhiana unit trap a laid and the accused was caught red handed accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

The spokesperson informed that in this regard a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against the said accused at VB police station, EOW Ludhiana. The accused would be produced in the competent court tomorrow and further investigation into this case was under progress, he said.

=======================================

Punjab aims to diversify mineral exploration beyond traditional resources

Mining and Geology Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra encourages focus on valuable minerals such as potassium etc. to boost state's economic growth

Chandigarh, September 20:Punjab Mining and Geology Minister S. Chetan Singh Jouramajra, on Friday, called for a paradigm shift in the state's mineral exploration efforts, urging both government and private entities to look beyond conventional resources like sand and gravel etc.

Speaking during the workshop on "Mineral Exploration" organized by the Department of Mines and Geology in collaboration with the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET), the Cabinet Minister highlighted recent discoveries and stressed the potential for further mineral wealth in the region.

Referring to the report submitted by Punjab government geologists in July 2022 that unveiled a significant 6 million tonne potassium deposit in village Kabarwala in Sri Muktsar Sahib district, positioning Punjab as the fourth state in India to harbour this valuable resource primarily used in fertilizer production, S. Chetan Singh Jouramajra said that potassium is mostly used for fertilizers and 99 percent of potassium is imported into the country. He stated that as per the research in this area, Punjab is the fourth state in the country where potassium has been discovered.

The Cabinet Minister reiterated Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led government's commitment to not only ensuring affordable construction materials for citizens but also fostering innovation and research in the mining sector. He called upon geologists from both public and private sectors to intensify their focus on exploring high-value minerals, viewing it as a catalyst for Punjab's economic fortification and national progress.

He said that this event has been organized to move forward in this direction and to conduct exploration work through private companies as well.

He urged government and private sector geologists to pay special attention to the exploration work of valuable minerals, which will make Punjab economically stronger and contribute to the progress of the state and the country.The Cabinet Minister also asked department officials to maintain constant contact with the Ministry of Mining, Government of India to establish new horizons in this sector so that there is no stagnation in research activities.

Other dignities who attended workshop included Mr. Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Secretary, Mines & Geology, Punjab, Dr. Shreemati Gupta, DDG, GSI. Smt. Anju C.S., Superintending Geologist, NMET, Ministry of Mines and Dr. Harinder Pal Singh Bedi, Chief Engineer, Mining, Punjab.

The first technical session was moderated by Sh. A.K. Talwar, Director, GSI, who spoke on the Exploration done by GSI in Punjab for Potash and shared the present and future prospective of exploration of Potash in Punjab.

The second technical session was moderated by Smt Aprajita Bhattacharya, Director, GSI who spoke on “National Geochemical mapping on Environmental Studies”. The technical session was followed by interaction with the NPEAs and other departmental officers/officials.