Chandigarh Sep 29 PTI Punjab on Wednesday reported one Covid-related death and 26 fresh cases a medical bulletin said So far the total number of coronavirus cases reported in the state is 601600 it stated The death toll rose to 16513 Three deaths were added to the toll after reconciliation of data as per the bulletin Among the new COVID-19 cases Mohali reported eight followed by four in Gurdaspur and three in Jalandhar The number of active cases stands at 290 Twenty-seven more people recovered from the infection taking the number of those who have been cured to 584797 as per the bulletin Chandigarh reported five cases taking the total count of coronavirus cases to 65224 With no death reported in the last 20 hours the toll remained at 819 The number of active cases in the city was 42 while the number of cured persons was 64363 PTI CHS VSD AQS AQS

Chandigarh Sep 28 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday allocated portfolios to the new ministers keeping 14 departments with himself and giving home affairs to deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and health to other deputy O P SoniChanni who took oath as the chief minister on September 20 gave the Local Government Parliamentary Affairs Department to senior cabinet colleague Brahm MohindraSome of the key portfolios which will be held by the chief minister are power excise mining and geology environment and civil aviation PTI SUN CHS VSD RHL

Chandigarh Sep 27 PTI I am soft and gentle but please dont mistake my gentleness for something that will let inaction go unnoticed Punjabs new Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi told the administrative secretaries on MondayChairing his first meeting with the administrative secretaries of all the departments Channi exhorted them to prepare a comprehensive roadmap of 100 days of their departments to bring in more efficiency and transparency according to an official statementHe asked the administrative secretaries to submit detailed proposals in this regard to the chief secretary within a weekThe chief minister said the core sectors of health and education should be prioritised so as to provide the best and affordable healthcare facilities to people besides imparting quality education to students especially in the rural areasHe asked the administrative secretaries to discharge their duties diligently in ensuring a clean transparent and corruption-free administration to people which he added is the hallmark of the Congress government in the stateI am soft and gentle but please dont mistake my gentleness for something that will let inaction go unnoticed I will act against those who wont act for the common people Channi saidHe said corruption has to be eradicated at all costs and added that the work of the common man should be done on priorityThe chief minister also said justice should be done to every citizen irrespective of his caste creed and communityHe urged the officials to give due respect to the ministers MLAs and elected representatives but at the same time reminded them that the rule of law should be the only criterion for decision makingChanni also asked the administrative secretaries to ensure a timely completion of the ongoing projects besides implementing welfare measures so the last man standing in the queue could avail the benefits offered by the state governmentHe urged them to follow an employee-friendly approach to resolve their issues amicably so that they should not resort to agitationAssuring Channi of good governance Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari said since his message is loud and clear they will leave no stone unturned to achieve the desired goals in line with the clean and transparent roadmap that has come directly from the chief ministerChanni was recently picked as the leader of the states Congress Legislative Party He was sworn in as the chief minister on September 20Amarinder Singh resigned as the chief minister over a week ago after being locked in a bitter power tussle with Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu PTI SUN VSD RC

Chandigarh Sep 25 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Saturday said he will meet ministers MLAs and other political functionaries every Tuesday The move is aimed at ensuring better coordination between the government and peoples representatives A spokesperson of the Chief Ministers Office said Channi ordered that the Cabinet meeting would be held every Tuesday at 3 pm and directed all administrative secretaries and heads of departments to remain present in their offices during this time every Tuesday Likewise he also asked them not to leave their offices till the Cabinet meeting is over PTI CHS RDK RDK

Chandigarh Sep 25 PTI Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Saturday directed deputy commissioners to submit a report in the next 48 hours on areas that have received over 100 mm rainfall so that farmers can be compensated for their losses through a special revenue assessment He said that farmers whose crops are not covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana PMFBY will also be compensated Chautala who also holds the portfolios of revenue and disaster management said that according to the forecast of the meteorological department there is a possibility of non-seasonal rains till September 30 The state government will also compensate for loss of crops including horticulture and pulses which are not covered under the PMFBY he said Chautala said that at present there is a possibility of more damage to pulses and cotton crops and after receiving the report a special girdawari revenue assessment will be done He said that the problem of waterlogging has also come to the fore in about 7500 acres of land in the area around the KMP Due to this farmers have suffered losses and after receiving the report they will be compensated according to the girdawari the deputy chief minister said He said that the report of regular girdawari of crop loss this year has also come and the government has directed insurance companies to pay compensation of farmers at the earliest apart from the crops which are covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana Directions have also been given to deputy commissioners to pay damages that are not covered under the yojana scheme he said Chautala said that increase in the Minimum Support Price MSP of crops in the last one year is a big initiative towards the upliftment of farmers Giving comparative information about crops procured during the last year and the current year he said that the state government has given more than Rs 1300 crore to farmers in this year so far Describing direct benefit transfer as a beneficial step for farmers he said that when this farmer-friendly process was started in wheat procurement about one and a half years ago some leaders from the opposition were against it but later state governments of their own party also supported the Haryana government and imitated the same Chautala said that even during the procurement of crops starting from October 1 the value of crops will be sent directly to the account of farmers PTI VSD ANB ANB

Chandigarh Sep 25 PTI Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on Saturday visited the residence of Major Anuj Rajput in Panchkula near here and paid tributes to the departed soul of the Army officer Rajput was killed after an Army helicopter crash-landed in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir on September 21 that also left co-pilot Major Rohit Kumar dead The Governor also consoled the family members of the fallen officer at his residence in Sector-20 and assured them all support and cooperation of the state Governmentan official statement said Dattatreya expressed his heartfelt condolences to members of the bereaved family and said the government stands with them in this hour of need While describing Rajput as a promising officer he said that the whole country is feeling proud of his valour The Governor said Rajput has made the supreme sacrifice for the country The sacrifice made by him would not go in vain as it will inspire the young generationhe said He said the brave soldiers of Haryana have always been in the forefront in sacrificing their lives for the unity and integrity of the country and Rajput is also one of them He was a successful pilot and his martyrdom will always be remembered with reverenceDattatreya added The Governor also interacted with the children in the family and encouraged them to work hard in their life Among those present on the occasion included Kulbansh Singh father of the Army officer mother Usha Rani and other family members PTI VSD HDA

Chandigarh Sep 25 PTI Seven new faces are likely to be inducted in the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Punjab cabinet while five ministers who were part of the Amarinder Singh-led government are expected to be dropped sources said Saturday With the list of ministers for the new cabinet finalised Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi Saturday met Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhavan here around 1230 pmAfter meeting the governor Channi told reporters the oath-taking ceremony for the new ministers will take place at 430 pm on SundayHis meeting with the governor came barely hours after he returned from Delhi having held a final round of discussion with the party high command on the cabinet formationPargat Singh Raj Kumar Verka Gurkirat Singh Kotli Sangat Singh Gilzian Amarinder Singh Raja Warring Kuljit Nagra and Rana Gurjit Singh are likely to be included in the cabinet according to the sourcesThe party is also learnt to have decided to retain Vijay Inder Singla Manpreet Singh Badal Brahm Mohindra Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa Arunu Chaudhary Razia Sultana and Bharat Bhushan Ashu from the Amarinder Singh government However five legislators -- Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi Sadhu Singh Dharamsot Balbir Singh Sidhu Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Sunder Sham Arora -- who were ministers in the Amarinder Singh-led cabinet are likely to be dropped the sources saidA consensus on the names for the Channi-led cabinet was reached during his meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other senior party members in the national capitalChanni was summoned to Delhi by the Congress high command on Friday to discuss the cabinet formation The visit came within hours of him returning from the national capitalA total of 18 MLAs can be included in the cabinet including Chief Minister Channi and two his deputies Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni PTI CHS VSD TIR TIR TIR

Chandigarh Sep 25 PTI Senior IPS officer Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota has been given the additional charge of the Punjab DGP according to an official order issued on Saturday The development comes after DGP Dinkar Gupta a 1987-batch IPS officer proceeded on leave Sahota a 1988-batch IPS officer is presently holding the charge of the Special DGP Armed Police Jalandhar According to the order Sahota has been given the additional charge of the DGP Punjab in addition to his own duties during the leave period of Dinkar Gupta It will come into force with immediate effect as per the order The change in the head of state police force came two days after the Charanjit Singh Channi-led government appointed Anirudh Tewari as the Chief Secretary after shunting Vini Mahajan Dinkar Gupta is the husband of Mahajan After the change of guard it was certain that the top bureaucrats of the state would be replaced Charanjit Singh Channi early this week had taken the charge of Chief Minister of Punjab following an unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh PTI CHS VSD RDK RDK

Chandigarh Sep 25 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will meet Governor Banwarilal Purohit this afternoon as the list of legislators for the new cabinet has been finalised sources saidChanni is expected to meet the governor at 1230 pm and the oath-taking ceremony for the new ministers is likely to take place Sunday they saidThe development comes hours after Channi returned from Delhi having held a final round of discussion with the party high command on the faces to be included in the new cabinetThe sources said seven fresh faces are likely to find place in the Channi-led cabinet and five MLAs who were ministers in the Amarinder Singh government are likely to be droppedChanni was summoned to Delhi by the Congress high command on Friday to discuss the cabinet expansion The visit came within hours of him returning from the national capital PTI CHS VSD TIR TIR

Chandigarh Sep 22 PTI The Punjab government has issued directions to the state-owned PRTC to remove posters from buses with pictures of former chief minister Amarinder Singh Charanjit Singh Channi took over as the chief minister of the state replacing Singh on Monday Posters carrying pictures of the chief minister are pasted on state-owned buses These posters highlight the welfare schemes and achievements of the state government A letter to remove posters of the former CM was issued by the Public Relations Department director to the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation PRTC in Patiala on Monday PTI CHS VSD AAR AAR