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Punjab offers to send Punjabi language teachers to Canada Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal today impressed upon Mr. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada to explore the possibility of transfer of technical knowhow from their Agro based Industries and Power Plants to provide value addition to the Punjabi farmers besides helping the State in attaining self-sufficiency in Power sector. Mr. Badal also offered to send a batch of Punjabi Language Teachers from Punjab to Canada to teach Punjabi to second and third generation of Punjabi immigrants settled there. Mr. Harper accompanied by a delegation of Canadian Ministers and MPs was here to pay obeisance at the Sanctum Sanctorum of Sri Harmandir Sahib. The Deputy Chief Minister informed the visiting Canadian Premier that Punjab was basically an agrarian state with 1.3 percent geographical area of the Country, contributing over 50 percent foodgrains (Rice and Wheat) in national kitty. He said that now with saturation in agricultural production, Punjab farmers were not getting remunerative price for their produce. He asked visiting PM to explore the possibility of transferring technical expertise from Canadian food processing industry to further ensuring value addition to the farmers. He further said that Canada was also known worldwide for his expertise in Power generation sector and Punjab, a rapidly growing economy needed more power. He informed that the present government has launched an ambitious program to generate over 6 thousand MW power through 4 ultra thermal plants and bagasse based plants and sought expertise from Canada based power generation firms especially in the area of producing power from agricultural waste and coal besides setting up solar power plants. Mr. Badal further pointed out that the first generation of Punjabis’ was quiet worried about decreasing interest of second and third generation in the Punjabi language. They were more worried for ever growing degradation of Punjabi language and revealed that the Punjab government was very much committed to preserve the originality and richness of Punjabi language and would like to associate with Canadian government in any such project for the promotion of Punjabi language. He also offered to set up a Punjabi language academy in Canada . He also sought the help of Canada government in launching joint venture programs with one of the University of the State to promote the cause of Punjabi language, research and development of English-Punjabi dictionary, thesaurus, websites, search engines in Punjabi language to strengthen Indo-Canadian ties in general and ties between Canada and Punjab in particular. Mr.Badal also offered to depute a batch of Punjabi language teachers from Punjab at Canada to maintain the original richness and sanctity of Punjabi language especially amongst first and second generation Punjabi immigrants settled in Canada. Later on, Mr. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada along with Mr. Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Ms. Nina Grewal, Mr. Tim Uppal, Mr. Devinder Shory and Mr. Deepak Obhrai(All MPs) paid obeisance at the Sanctum Sanctorum of Sri Harmandir Sahib. He was received by Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal and Mr. Avtar Singh, President, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. He was presented a Siropa at Sri Harmandir Sahib by Giani Jaswinder Singh. Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Mr. Rattan Singh Ajnala, MP, Mr. Manoranjan Kalia and Mr. Gulzar Singh Ranike(both Cabinet Ministers), Mr. Amarpal Singh Ajnala, Dr. Dalbir Singh, Mr. Malkiat Singh and Mr. O.P. Soni(all MLAs), Mr. S.C. Aggarwal, Chief Secretary,Punjab, Mr. Shwait Malik, Mayor, Mr. Kahan Singh Pannu, Deputy Commissioner, Mr. IPS Sahota, IG/Border Zone, Mr. Parampal Singh Sidhu, DIG/Border Range and Mr. P.K. Rai, SSP. -------------------------------------------------------- NOVEMBER 18: Punjab DGP Mr. P.S. Gill today dismissed Sub Inspector Rajesh Ashtir and Head Constable Raj Singh from service under article 311(2)(b) of constitution of India. It may be mentioned here that the above said police officials were found guilty of taking bribe of Rs. 5.50 lac from two Poppy husk smugglers for dropping their names while registering a case under NDPS Act. A spokesman of Punjab Police today said that a case no. 122 u/s 409, 421, 120-B of IPC and 7.13 (2) of PC Act dated 17.11.09 has been registered at Police Station Kot Isse Khan. The spokesman said that the drive against Narcotic smugglers would continue and any black sheep colluding with anti-social elements would not be spared. Badal visits Agriculture Research Centre of Egypt Seeks cooperation to develop varieties of crops with less water usage Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today visited the Agriculture Research Centre of Egypt, the largest such facility in whole of the Middle East and interacted with its directors and other agricultural experts to seek their cooperation to adopt agriculture practices on the most modern and scientific lines besides developing varieties of crops with less water usage in Punjab. The Chief Minister was accompanied by his Media Advisor Mr. Harcharn Bains, Secretary Science Technology and Environment Mr. Viswajit Khanna, his Special Secretary Mr. K.J.S Cheema, Seretary Punjab Pollution Control Board Mr. Babu Ram and Chief Engineer Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Mr. Sita Ram Agarwal. India’s Ambassador to Egypt Mr. Swaminathan was also present in the meeting. The Chief Minister also urged the ARC for exchange of technical know-how between their agri-experts and our agri- researchers and scientists of Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana, besides giving training to our agri-experts at ARC, subscription of ARC journals and also sought their cooperation in the field of wheat & cotton research. AMRITSAR SEWERAGE PROJECT ON FAST TRACK Chandigarh November 18, 2009 The project management consultant (PMC) on the Amritsar Sewerage Project has completed the detailed survey of the town with the help of satellite imagery and field survey. Disclosing this here today Local Government Minister said that the PMC has presented a copy of the report to him here today. As per the project report Amritsar town has been divided into three zones i.e. North, South and South East. Detailed design of South and South-East. Detailed design of South zone has been completed by the PMC and design of North zone is at the final stage. For setting up three sewage treatment plants, identification of the sites has been done and technology selection is in process. Pre-qualification documents for construction of sewers have been submitted to Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) for approval. Tender documents for the construction of sewer are under preparation and will be submitted to JICA shortly. The construction is expected to start early next year and will be completed by December 2011. The project was sanctioned by JICA for Rs. 360Cr. Which was to be financed through JICA loan of Rs. 276 crore and Government of Punjab and Municipal Corporation Amrtisar contribution of Rs. 84 crore. Revised project cost as per detailed study is around Rs. 490 crore. Due to fluctuation in exchange rate between rupee and Japanese Yen, the loan component from JICA has provided relief of Rs. 72 crore shall cover part of the increase of cost. Delegation of Japanese and other International experts recently visited the Hon. Minister of Urban Development Mr. Manoranjan Kalia and apprised him of the Amritsar Sewerage Project. The Minister proposed that funds available from JICA loan and Government of Punjab/MCA assistance be utilized for providing sewerage facilities in the North and South zone, which covers the walled city and other densely populated areas of Amritsar. He also proposed that a project that a costing Rs. 61 crore for the South-East zone be submitted to Government of India for financing under the ongoing JNNURM scheme. Mr. Tekechi Director (Overseas Operations) of Tokyo Engineering Consultants explained the projects feature in detail and also discussed the importance of the project. The main features of the Amritsar Sewerage project were described as follows: Total 24 lac population benefiting from the project, 100% coverage of sewerage system in two phases, over 50,000 house connection, new high technology sewage treatment plants, Reuse of treated effluent for water conservation, improvement of community awareness towards sanitation, improvements to the environment and public health of the urban poor and institutional management and operations improvement. The visiting team comprising Mr. Akira Takechi Director Overseas Department, Tokyo Engineering Consultants, Japan, Mr. Charies kretch and Mr. Ajay Singh Represented the JICA appointed Project Management Consultant team for the project, Principle Secretary Local Government Mr. D.S. Bains and Punjab water supply and Sewerage Board officials were present during the meeting. The Anand Karaj (Marriage) of Dr. Akalkala Kaur daughter of Punjab Public Relations Minister Mr.Sewa Singh Sekhwan was solemnized today with Mr. Guramardeep Singh son of Mr Gurmez Singh in Gurudwara Sri Bouli Sahib in village Dhakouli with full Sikh religious rites. The Anand Karaj ceremony was conducted by Head Granthi of Sri Harmandir Sahib, Giani Jaswinder Singh. On this occasion Hazuri Ragi of Sri Bouli Sahib, Bhai Gurdial Singh mesmerized the devotees with Shabad Kirtan (recitation of Gurbani). Jathedar of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib Giani Gurbachan Singh came specially to bless the newly married couple. SGPC President Jathedar Avtar Singh and Baba Kashmira Singh Garhe wale also blessed the newly wed couple. On this occasion, Jathedar of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib Giani Gurbachan Singh, Head Granthi of Sri Harmandir Sahib, Giani Jaswinder Singh, SGPC President Jathedar Avtar Singh and Baba Kashmira Singh Garhe wale bestowed Siropa (robe of honour) to newly wed couple. Bhai Baldev Singh, Head of Akhand Kirtani Jatha International and Head, Dharm Prachar,SGPC thanked the Supreme religious authorities for blessing the newly married couple. The Punjab Ex-servicemen Corporation (PESCO) in collaboration with the Government of India has decided to start some job-oriented courses from December 14, 2009. Disclosing this here today, a spokesman of PESCO said that these courses would be related to the Electrical Works, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning. These courses have been designed for unemployed 8th class passes persons to enable them for self-employment. These courses would be only two and half month duration and no fees would be charged from the candidates, the spokesman added. The spokesman further said that the PESCO has also approved a security guards training programme for the candidates belong to scheduled castes, weaker sections and other backward classes under the employment generation programme. Candidates who have passed 10+2 examination and have a minimum height 5'8" for men and 5'5" for women would be eligible for this training, the spokesman added. After the completion of training candidates would be offered contractual job. ORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PUNJAB.ROTATIONAL IRRIGATION PROGRAMME FOR RABI SEASON ANNOUNCED Chandigarh, November 19: The Irrigation Department, Punjab has announced the Rotational Programme for irrigation for the current Rabi Season through Canal water from 24-11-2009 to 1-12-2009. The channels of Sirhind Canal System would run on the priority basis from Abohar Branch, Patiala feeder, Sidhwan Branch, Bathinda Branch and Bist Doab Canal respectively. The spokesman also said that the channels off taking from upper Bari Doab Canal i.e. Kasur Branch Lower with its distributaries being in the first Preference would run to their indent .Balance water supplies water available would be utilized in Sabraon Branch, Lahore Branch with their distributaries respectively. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Chandigarh, November 19: Government agencies and private millers procured more than 138.59 lakh tonnes of Paddy till last evening as compared to 130.80 lakh tonnes upto November 18,2008. Out of total procurement of 138.59 lakh tonnes of paddy in all the procurement centers of Punjab, Government agencies procured 135.59 lakh tonnes of paddy (97.8%) till date whereas private traders procured 3 lakh tonnes (2.2%) of paddy. Till November 18, PUNGRAIN had procured 40.28 lakh tonnes (29.7%) whereas MARKFED procured 28.02 lakh tonnes (20.7%). PUNSUP procured 31.12 lakh tonnes (23.0%), PSWC procured 16.60 lakh tonnes (12.2%) whereas PAIC was able to procure 12.91 lakh tonnes (9.5 %) of paddy whereas the Central Government agency FCI had procured 6.62 lakh tonnes (4.9%). The spokesman added that District Sangrur with 16.62 lakh tonnes of procurement was leading in procurement operations whereas district Ludhiana with 16.49 lakh tonnes of procurement was at second slot and District Patiala 13.29 lakh tonnes of procurement ranked at third position. The State Government has set up 1600 procurement centers and activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of paddy, the spokesman added. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Chandigarh, November 19: Keeping in view the crops and weather conditions, Irrigation Department Punjab has issued a notification to close the Abohar Branch from 25.11.2009 to 10.12.2009 (both days inclusive) for 16 days for reconstruction of of mini Hydel Project on Abohar Branch cross Regulator at RD 242050 and some other works. ---------------------------------------- Leading players in cutting edge solar energy technology, agriculture, water management fighting the problem of water salination, environmental and water pollution are likely to visit Punjab in the coming days as a follow up to the joint developmental thrust proposed between Israel and Punjab. The government of India has been approach to facilitate the process. Earlier, the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal called on the Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour of Israel Binyamin Ben-Eliezer last evening to explore the possibility of joint collaboration between Israel and Punjab in several developmental areas. The Chief Minister was accompanied by his Media Advisor Mr. Harcharn Bains, Secretary Science Technology and Environment Mr. Viswajit Khanna, his Special Secretary Mr. K.J.S Cheema as well as Chairman CII Punjab region Mr. Gunbir Singh apart from other officials including Secretary Punjab Pollution Control Board Mr. Babu Ram an Chief Engineer Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Mr. Sita Ram Agarwal. India’s Ambassador to Israel Mr. Navtej Singh Sarna and Third Secretary in Indian Embassy Mr. Amar Tani also assisted the Chief Minister. Mr. Badal also underlined the need for treatment of effluents of industrial wastes and domestic sewage through the application of state-of-the-art-technology of Reverse Osmosis (RO). The RO system is already being put in operation in several parts of the state where salinity and brackish water posed a serious threat to health especially in the rural areas of Malwa belt. The Chief Minister told the representative of different companies that he wanted not only to fine tune and streamline the application of RO system but also to make it even more economical and cost effective for the consumers. The companies whose representatives met the Chief Minister included CPY Solar Energy Limited., Merkort- Israeli National Water Management Company Tahal and AMIAD Israel. The last company specializes in water salination as a replacement for the traditional Rural Water Supply. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chandigarh November 18: The Punjab Government has strictly ordered not to depute the teaching faculty on non-teaching duties in the state and the erring officers would have to face the disciplinary action in this regard. This was stated by Dr. Upinderjit Kaur, Education Minister Punjab here on Wednesday. In a statement she clarified that it had came to her notice that Deputy Commissioners-cum-District Electoral Officers (DEOs) of various districts were deputing the teachers as Block Level Officers (BLOs) for revision of voter lists despite the orders of state Chief Secretary issued in the last year. “I brought the matter into the notice of the Punjab Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal in this regard and he has given his consent not to depute teachers for revision of voter lists or non teaching duties” she added. The Education Minister further said that the State Chief Election Officer had also agreed to this proposal of education department in this regard because there were shortage of teaching staff in the schools in the state. “These days the current academic year is nearing to final examinations. Hence such duties could surely hamper the teaching practices in the schools”. Adding she said that strict orders has been circulated to all the DEOs not to depute the teachers on non-teaching duties. Dr. Upinderjit Kaur asked the teaching faculty to extend their full cooperation to the state government and the department so that the mission started by the state government to improve education standards in the state could be achieved in letter and spirit. She exhorted teachers to work as team spirit with full dedication and commitment and to play a vital role in improving the educational standard in the schools. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- With a view to control the rising of prices and menace of stock holdy, the Punjab Government has fixed the maximum quantity of Rice, Pulses and Edible Oils including hydrogenated vegetable Oils. Disclosing this here today a spokesman of Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Punjab, said that a notification under Punjab Hording and Profiteering Prevention Order 1977 has already beeen issued in this regard. As per the notification, maximum limit of stock for rice has been fixed 5000 quintals and 500 quintals for dealers and retailers respectively. Similarly, a dealer / retailer could have maximum 1000 quintals and 500 quintals respectively of all types of pulses. Maximum stock limit for all types of Edible Oils including Hydrogenated Vegetable oils would be 1000 quintals and 40 quintals for dealers and retailers respectively, the spokesman added. Chandigarh November 18: Disclosing this here today Technical Education and Industrial Training Minister Punjab Ch. Swarna Ram said that these new Polytechnics would be established in districts Kapurthala, Bhagat Singh Nagarr (Nawanshehar), Barnala and Fatehgarh Sahib. A sum of Rs. 12.30 crore per Polytechnics would be provided by the GOI and where as the land and development charges would be borne by the state government. Out of Rs. 12.30 crores Rs. 8.00 crore would be spent on civil works and Rs. 4.30 crore would be spent on equipment, machinery, furniture, transport and learning resource material. The first installment of Rs. 2 crore per districts has already been released by the government of India, he added. The Minister further said that the emphasis should be given to enhance hardware courses in electronic and electrical courses. The admissions in these polytechnics would be made alongwith the other polytechnics of the State as per admission procedure criteria and guidelines, he added. Chandigarh November 18: The Punjab Government has constituted a State level Agriculture Mass Media Monitoring Committee with the objective to inform and educate the farming community to meet the emerging challenges using mass media. Financial Commissioner Development and Director Agriculture Punjab would be the Chairman and Secretary respectively of the committee. Mr.Sandeep Singh Randhawa, Smt. Baljit Kaur Akalgarh and Mr. Surjeet Singh Pannu will be the non official members of the committee. The term of the non official members will be for three years. The committee shall meet a least once a month the spokesman added. -------------------------------------------- Chandigarh November 18: Punjab Local Bodies Minister Sh. Manoranjan Kalia warned the colonizers that they should not develop the un-authorized colonies in Urban and sub urban areas in the state. He said that without obtaining a license from the competent authority declared by the Punjab Government under the act, developing un-authorized colony is not only illegal but it was also a strict violation of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act. The Minister further said that if any person found develop/purpose to develop any colony without seeking the permission from the competent authority such persons would liable to be punished for three years imprisonment or Rs. 10000/- fine or both. He appealed to the general public that they should not waste their hard earned money for purchasing plots and shops in un-authorized colonies, as strict action would be taken by the Government against such violators also. He said instead of buying plots in unauthorized colonies people should go for authorized colonies only.
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