SUGARCANE CRUSHING IN PUNJAB TO BEGIN FROM NOVEMBER 25

* 5% increase in area under sugarcane crop; expected to produce 62 lakh quintals of sugar, says Gurmeet Singh Khudian

•Agriculture Minister directs officials to make all arrangements before commencement of crushing operations

Chandigarh, November 6:The Punjab Government has announced that sugarcane crushing in the state will begin from November 25, 2024 onwards.

This decision was made during a meeting of the State Sugarcane Control Board, chaired by Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian at his office, on Wednesday.

S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian said that Punjab has witnessed a 5% increase in the area under sugarcane crop. This year, sugarcane crop has been cultivated on 1 lakh hectares area, which is up from around 95,000 hectares previous year. There are 15 sugar mills in Punjab, comprising nine cooperative and six private mills, which are expected to crush around 700 lakh quintals of sugarcane. The state is projected to produce 62 lakh quintals of sugar this season, he added.

The Agriculture Minister directed the concerned officials to ensure that all arrangements are in place before the commencement of crushing operations, while emphasising that farmers should not face any inconvenience in selling their produce and timely payments should also be made to them.

Additional Chief Secretary Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Mr. Anurag Verma, Punjab Agriculture Commissioner Ms Neelima, Secretary Expenditure Mr. VN Zade, MD Sugarfed Dr. Senu Duggal, Director Agriculture Mr. Jaswant Singh, Punjab Cane Commissioner Mr. Dilbagh Singh, Director of PAU’s Regional Research Station Kapurthala Mr. Gulzar Singh Sanghera and Members of the state Sugarcane Control Board Kamal Oswal, Kunal Yadav, Sher Partap Singh Cheema and others were also present in the meeting.

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PUNJAB POLICE BUSTS TRANS-BORDER NARCOTIC SMUGGLING RACKET; THREE HELD WITH 1KG ICE, 1KG HEROIN

— PUNJAB POLICE COMMITTED TO MAKING PUNJAB A DRUG FREE STATE

— ARRESTED ACCUSED KARANDEEP SINGH WAS IN TOUCH WITH FOREIGN BASED GANGSTER GURDEV JAISAL, SAYS DGP GAURAV YADAV

— PAK-BASED SMUGGLERS WERE USING DRONES TO TRANSPORT DRUG CONSIGNMENTS: DGP PUNJAB

— FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ARE ON, MORE ARRESTS AND RECOVERIES EXPECTED: CP GURPREET SINGH BHULLAR

CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, November 6:Striking a big blow to the gangster-narco nexus, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted a trans-border narcotic smuggling racket with the arrest of three drug smugglers and recovered 1kg Ice (Methamphetamine) and 1kg Heroin from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Karandeep Singh (22), a resident of village Bhakna Kala in Amritsar, Jeewan Singh (19) and Manjinder Singh (21), both resident of Chohla Sahib in Tarn Taran. Police teams have also impounded their car Toyota Etios in which they were travelling.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that arrested accused Karandeep had been living in Dubai and Moscow in Russia before returning back to Punjab after six years.

After returning to Punjab, accused Karandeep has established contacts with the Pak-based drug smugglers using various social media apps and started smuggling narcotics from across the border to further supply them in Amritsar and neighbouring districts, he said, while adding that drones were being used by Pak-based smugglers to influx narcotics into the territory of the state.

The DGP said the the probe has also found that the accused Karandeep was also in touch with foreign-based Gangster Gurdev alias Jaisal. An FIR under NDPS Act registered at Police Station Airport Amristar and Investigations ongoing to establish backward and forward linkages, he added.

Pertinently, Gurdev Jaisel is a key operative of Canada-based terrorists Lakhbir alias Landa and Satbir Singh alias Satta, who were behind the Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack at Police Station Sarhali and numerous plots to commit targeted killings in Punjab.

Sharing operation details while addressing a press conference, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting swiftly on a secret input, police teams from CIA Staff-1 under the supervision of DCP Investigation Harpreet Singh Mander laid a naka near Puli Sua at Ajnala road in Amritsar and arrested trio accused persons after recovering drug consignments from their vehicle.

The CP said that further investigations are going on. More arrests and recoveries are expected in coming days, he added.

A case FIR no 44 dated 05.11.2024 has been registered under sections 21C,22C and 23 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Airport Amritsar.

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More than Rs. 22000 Crore credited into accounts of farmers: Lal Chand Kataruchak

· Single day lifting recorded at 6.18 LMT; 105 LMT procured out of 111 LMT arrival

· 6th successful procurement season of Punjab Government

Chandigarh, November 6:The current paddy procurement season is going on in full swing in the mandis of the State with the emphasis of the Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on catering to the interests of all the stakeholders viz. Millers, Farmers, Arhtiyas and the Labourers. This is amply clear from the fact that Rs. 22,047 Crore have been credited into the accounts of the farmers and 105 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) of paddy out of 111 LMT arriving in the mandis, stand procured.

As regards the aspect of lifting, 6.18 LMT paddy was lifted yesterday which is a historical achievement from single day point of view and the total lifting till now stands at 64,55,000 LMT which comes around to nearly 62 percent.

Disclosing this here today while interacting with the media persons at Anaj Bhawan, the Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Minister Mr. Lal Chand Kataruchak said that out of the 5086 rice mills in the state, 4792 have applied for the allotment and 4579 mills have been allotted which is a clear proof that this 6th procurement season of the present State Government would also turn out to be a very successful one.

Divulging further, the Minister said that this time, the state got the target to procure 185 LMT and the State Government has made elaborate arrangements for 190 LMT whether in the form of Bardana or monetary form. Last year the Union Government had imposed value cut on the crop brought by the farmers in the mandis but the Punjab Government paid Rs. 190 Crore out of its own pocket to the farmers so as to make sure that they do not suffer financially, said the Minister adding that the State Government had given huge relief to the rice millers also whether it is the issue of CMR security or any other.

Reiterating the commitment of the State Government to procure every single grain of the crop brought by the farmers in the mandis, the Minister said that the Chief Minister is taking personal interest to ensure the protection of interests of all those connected with the procurement.

Listing the serious and systematic approach of the Punjab Government on the storage space issue, the Minister added that the Chief Minister and he himself has taken up the matter with the Union Government apart from writing several letters.

Lauding the officers of the Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department for working tirelessly despite the challenges, the Minister said we are heading towards accomplishing a highly successful season.

In the matter of CCL, the Minister made it clear that it is given to the State in lieu of lifting the crop produced by the farmers hence it is not an extraordinary favour by the Union Government.

Taking the BJP leadership to task, the Minister said that they should not indulge in petty politics on this issue which is of vital interest to the State and instead they pressurize the Union Government to double the number of Rakes so as to take maximum rice out of Punjab, which would create ample storage space in the state. Till Now, the FCI has created storage space for 18 LMT but more efforts need to be made by the FCI for ensuring further storage space.

Among others present on the occasion included the Principal Secretary Vikas Garg, Director Puneet Goyal, Additional Director Dr. Anjuman Bhaskar, Joint Director Ajayveer Singh Sarao and others

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Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema Directs Education Department to Resolve Unaided Staff Front Legitimate Demands on Priority

Hold Meetings with Employee Unions, Address their Concerns

Chandigarh, November 6-Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday directed the Education Department to resolve the legitimate demands of Unaided Staff Front (Aided School) on priority. This directive came during meetings chaired by him as Chairman of Cabinet Sub-Committee with various employee unions at his office here.

In a subsequent meeting with the Daftri Karamchari Union, Finance Minister Cheema informed the union representatives that the Cabinet Sub-Committee had asked the Officers’ Committee to consider the issue of school office staff regularization, similar to the regularization of teachers in 2018 and 2022, and to submit a report within one month. He also directed the School Education Department to resolve the pay anomaly issue raised by these employees as soon as possible.

The Murr Bahal Adhiyapak union demanded the swift completion of their reinstatement process. In response, Cabinet Minister Cheema directed the School Education Department to prepare a list of the sacked teachers and verify the reasons for their dismissal. He emphasized that cases of teachers dismissed for unjustified reasons should be considered sympathetically. Additionally, on the demand of the 2364 ETT Selected Adhiyapak Union to remove the ban on selecting the station of posting, the union was informed that the portal has been opened in this regard.

The Joint Action Committee of Vets for Pay-Parity raised concerns about the lower basic pay scale of Veterinary Officers compared to Medical and Dental Officers following the decision to implement the central pay scale for new recruitment. They also demanded house rent allowance on par with the Health department. Finance Minister Cheema directed the Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry to have a meeting with the Principal Secretary, Finance at the earliest to find a solution to these issues and assess the financial implications. He also instructed the Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry to convene a meeting with the Veterinary A.I Worker Union and submit a proposal to resolve their legitimate demands.

In response to the issues raised by the Gram Panchayat Water Supply Pump Operators Association, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema directed the Director, Rural Development and Panchayats to consider forming committees at the block level to address these concerns. He also directed the department to submit a request to the central government for necessary changes in the required qualifications for the training program for these employees, ensuring that all employees benefit from the training.