Chandigarh Dec 22 PTI With 52 fresh cases Punjabs COVID-19 tally has climbed to 604058 according to a medical bulletin issued on WednesdayWith one more Covid-related fatality the death toll due to the viral disease in the state has gone up to 16635 including a death that was not reported earlierPatiala reported eight fresh cases of the infection followed by seven in LudhianaThe number of active coronavirus cases in the state stands at 305Thirty-seven more people have recovered from the infection taking the total number of recoveries to 587118 in the state according to the bulletinMeanwhile the Union Territory of Chandigarh has reported five COVID-19 cases taking the total count to 65731The death toll due to the disease stands at 1078 with no Covid-related fatality reported in the city in a 24-hour periodThe number of active cases in Chandigarh is 99 while that of recoveries is 64554 PTICHS RC

Chandigarh Dec 22 PTI Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday said a specialist cadre of doctors is being prepared in the state for the first time and the draft policy in this regard will be implemented soonHe said now all advertisements for the recruitment of doctors will be in accordance with their specialisation adding that over the next one month 980 doctors will be recruited in the stateThe minister was replying to a question raised in the state AssemblyIn response to another question Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said in Haryana an MLA of an urban Assembly constituency can choose the nearest village in a rural Assembly segment for development under the Vidhayak Adarsh Gram Yojana VAGYHe further said it was decided by the state government on December 26 2018 that for the development works of each Assembly constituency an amount of up to Rs 2 crore will be provided annually in accordance with the population of the villagesChautala said an MLA can recommend development works worth Rs 50 lakh for a village with a population of up to 5000 Rs 1 crore for a village with a population of 5000 to 10000 and Rs 2 crore for a village with a population of more than 10000PTI SUN RC

Chandigarh Dec 22 PTI Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said 276 cases were registered against protesters in the state during the year-long stir against the farm laws and the process to drop these barring those of serious offences is underway Replying to an issue regarding withdrawal of cases against farmers in the state during their stir against the legislations that have now been repealed Khattar said in the State Assembly that as per police records 276 cases have been registered during the agitation Of these four cases are registered under serious offences Out of remaining 272 cases chargesheets has been prepared in 178 cases As many as 57 cases are untraced The cancellation report of eight cases has been prepared of which cancellation report of four cases has been filed before the courts The process of cancellation of 29 cases is going on he further informed He said the state government will withdraw all the cases registered against farmers except cases involving heinous crimes such as rape murder etc The Chief Minister was answering questions raised by the opposition during the winter session of Vidhan Sabha Responding to a question raised in the House regarding giving compensation to the next of kin of farmers who died during the stir the Chief Minister said that at present talks are going on with the farmers According to a CID report the number of Haryana farmers who died is 46 while post-mortem report available is of only 10-15 While interacting with farmers it had been informed by the cultivators that the tally of deceased farmers of Haryana is 73 he said The investigation in this matter is still going on The decision regarding compensation will be taken after holding discussions he said PTI SUN VSD HDA

Chandigarh Dec 22 PTI Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh took a swipe at Harish Rawat on Wednesday after the Congress leader alleged non-cooperation from his party ahead of the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly pollsIn a tweet Singh told the former Uttarakhand chief minister You reap what you sow All the best for your future endeavours if there are any Singh faced an unceremonious exit as the Punjab chief minister in September amid a bitter power tussle with state Congress chief Navjot Singh SidhuRawat was the Punjab affairs in-charge of the Congress at that time The grand old party had then replaced Singh with Charanjit Singh ChanniIn his resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in November Singh had slammed Rawat and dubbed him as the most dubious individualThe former Punjab chief minister subsequently launched his own political partyRawat who is the campaign head of the Congress in poll-bound Uttarakhand created a flutter in the political circles on Wednesday alleging non-cooperation from his organisation and noting that he sometimes feels it is time for him to restIn a tweet in Hindi he said Isnt it strange that the organisational structure at most places instead of extending a helping hand is standing with its head turned away or playing a negative role at a time when I have to swim across the ocean of elections The powers that be have left crocodiles there People on whose orders I have to swim their nominees are tying up my hands and feet he saidI am invaded by thoughts A voice from within sometimes tells me it is enough Harish Rawat you have swam long It is time to rest the former Uttarakhand chief minister saidI am in a dilemma The new year may show me the way he added PTI CHS VSD RC

Chandigarh Dec 22 PTI Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleged on Wednesday that the Haryana government did not give satisfactory answers to the issues and questions raised by the Opposition during the winter session of the AssemblyThe government was seen running away from the questions of the Opposition he said in the Assembly and later reiterated it during a media interactionHooda who is the leader of opposition in the Assembly said the Congress raised the issues of the alleged recruitment scam the unemployment problem the shortage of fertilisers and sought that a resolution be passed giving a guarantee on the minimum support price MSP for crops waterlogging the dilapidated condition of roads and inflationThere were 17 adjournments and calling attention motions on separate issues but only five of those were approved Besides dozens of questions related to public interest were raised during the Question Hour The government gave misleading answers on most issues and questions he saidNo further evidence is needed as regards the troubles being faced by people today but the government appeared in the House as if there is no recruitment scam going on in the state neither the youngsters are facing unemployment nor is there any shortage of urea for farmers no shortage of the DAP fertiliser nor are we staring at the possibility of a third COVID-19 waveDuring the pandemic no one faced a shortage of hospital beds no one died due to a lack of oxygen law and order was not an issue nor was the level of education falling the former Haryana chief minister addedThe Congress tried to raise all the issues and problems being faced by people during the Assembly session and appealed to the government to accept its demands he saidAll the demands of the Opposition like getting the recruitment scam probed by the CBI under the supervision of a sitting high court judge passing the proposal for a guarantee on MSP for crops and sending it to the Centre making public the investigation report of the liquor registry and paddy purchase scam were not accepted by the governmentBut we will continue to raise the demands and problems of the people on every platform The Congress will force the government to accept the legitimate demands of all the organisations and the common people Hooda saidHe said the next stop of his outreach programme Vipaskh Aapke Samaksh would be held in Nuh on SundayThe Congress leader claimed that about 10000 posts in the state health department and 40000 posts in the education department are lying vacantThe number of Haryana Roadways buses was 4500 during the Congress tenure which has now come down to 3000 Neither new buses are being purchased by the government nor vacant posts are being filled This is the reason that Haryana is facing the highest unemployment rate in the country he said Hooda alleged that the BJP-JJP government in Haryana is neither able to provide employment nor justice to youngstersIt is neither able to give MSP to the farmers nor compensation for crop loss This government is neither able to give pension to the elderly nor financial help to the families of the Covid victims Every section of the society is upset and disappointed with this government he said PTI SUN VSD RC