Chandigarh Jan 27 PTI The Administration here on Thursday eased Covid restrictions allowing opening of schools for students of Classes 10 to 12 from February 1 The administration also gave relaxation in timings of gymnasiums markets and activities at Sukhna Lake according to a statement However Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit who is the Administrator of Union Territory Chandigarh appealed to people to follow Covid-related protocols and guidelines at public places Purohit reviewed the pandemic situation in the city with all senior officials of the Administration While schools for the three classes will reopen on February 1 the orders regarding various other relaxations will come into force from January 28 All students above 15 years of age should have been vaccinated at least once to attend offline classes Coaching institutions will be allowed to open at 50 per cent capacity subject to the condition that all students of 15 to 18 years should have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine and studentsstaff above 18 years of age are fully vaccinated All markets including Apni Mandis will be allowed to remain open till 10 pm as against 5 pm earlier All gyms and health centres can operate now till 10 pm at 50 per cent of their capacity subject to the condition that the staff and the users are fully vaccinated All activities at Sukhna Lake including boating will be allowed to from 5 am to 10 pm However the shops on the premises of the lake will be open subject to the compliance of the Covid-appropriate behaviour and proper sanitisation Purohit also directed police officials to ensure strict enforcement of the protocols at public places He expressed satisfaction over the decline in positivity rate and appreciated health officials for being proactive in handling the situation an official statement said He advised health officials to keep analysing small trends and surges and keep taking strict and prompt containment action PTI SUN RDK RDK

Chandigarh Jan 21 PTI Punjab Lok Congress leader Amarinder Singh on Friday launched a scathing attack against Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi alleging that the road blockade that led to the PMs security breach was stage-managed and kickbacks were received in the transfer and posting of officers The incumbent government has been exposed as a suitcase di sarkar after the recent ED raids that unearthed crores of rupees from the chief ministers kin he said in a statement Amarinder Singh also claimed that Channi had once fallen on his feet imploring to get rid of a harassment complaint by a woman officer The prime ministers convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur earlier this month after which he returned from the poll-bound state without attending the rally there The former Punjab CM alleged that the Channi government had instructed police not to remove farmers who were stopping BJP buses from reaching the Ferozepur rally venue Amarinder Singh said he had earlier passed the flyover near Ferozepur and there was no blockade there The PMs security breach was clearly stage-managed by the Channi government the leader said in a statement Describing the incident a major security lapse the former CM said instead of taking a defiant stand Channi should have issued an unequivocal apology We are sensitive border state and Pakistans ISI is always looking to create trouble here he said asserting that one cannot ever take any chances Amarinder Singh regretted having helped Channi resolve the metoo complaint against him saying the then minister had fallen on his feet and pledged loyalty to him for life Now he has changed colours and claiming he had been trying to get rid of me for the past two years he said Dubbing Channi as an unreliable and untrustworthy person Amarinder Singh alleged that Channi made transfers and postings an industry in Punjab in the past three months Three DGPs have been changed his home minister has been openly accused in a cabinet meeting by his colleague that money was being taken for posting of SSP there was a tug of war on the AGs postThis is not lokaan di sarkar peoples government but transfer posting di sarkar which has now also become suitcase di sarkar he added The former CM said the Enforcement Directorate seizure from a Channis kin was a follow-up on the case that the agency had registered after he as CM had ordered an inquiry while he was heading the government Unfortunately he said he had been unable to take any serious action against the Congress MLAs who were involved in illegal mining in the state as that would have damaged the partys interests and Sonia Gandhi had failed to respond to his query on which minister or MLA she wanted him to sack over the issue Labeling Channi a total failure Amarinder Singh said the new chief minister had done nothing except indulge in postings and transfers since taking over Even the announcements made by Channi are nothing but projects that were launched or announced by me he said citing farm loan waiver jobs under the Ghar-Ghar Rozgar scheme and free bus travel for women Even free power which he claims to be his initiative was something my government was working on finding ways and means to implement he added Amarinder Singh alleged that Manpreet Badal as finance minister had scuttled many of his schemes and plans by claiming to have no funds which it appears now was a total lie On why no sitting Congress MLA was joining his party Amarinder Singh said they are only waiting for their party to announce tickets which is being deliberately delayed as the Congress is scared of defections PTI SUN RDK RDK

Chandigarh Jan 19 PTI Complying with directions of Election Commission 354075 licensed weapons have been deposited with police ahead of February 20 Punjab Assembly elections states Chief Electoral Officer Dr S Karuna Raju said here on Wednesday This is 9110 per cent of the total 390275 licensed weapons in the state he said The licensed gun owners deposit their firearms in various police stations He said some of the persons having licensed weapons including security personnel at nationalisedprivate banks will have to approach the deputy commissioner for any genuine exemptions and complaint redressal Raju said after the model code of conduct came into force in the state for Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections various enforcement teams seized psychotropic substances amounting to Rs 4449 crore till January 18 Giving details he said surveillance teams seized 660 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 2 crore Similarly the enforcement wings have also recovered psychotropic substances amounting to Rs 4449 crore besides confiscating unaccounted cash of Rs 174 crore he added in an official statement He said as many as 1088 vulnerable hamlets have been identified Besides 2376 persons have been identified as probable sources of trouble he said adding that out of these persons preventive action had already been initiated against 1129 He said 2221 cases of non-bailable warrant have been executed while execution in 191 cases is under process As many as 6339 nakas check points are operational across the state as part of heightened security measures for the next months polls he added PTI SUN RDK RDK

Chandigarh Dec 24 PTI Punjab DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya on Friday directed senior police officials to take effective and stern action against those found disturbing peace and communal harmony in the poll-bound state DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya directed all commissioners of policeSSPs to launch preventive precautionary and operational security measures to ensure peace and communal harmony in the state The DGP held a virtual meeting with the officers to review the crime situation The meeting took place in the wake of a bomb blast in the Ludhiana district courts complex The bomb blast killed one person and injured six others prompting the Punjab government to declare a high alert in the state The DGP directed the police officers to keep vigil at all sensitive places and deploy maximum police force at checkpoints besides ensuring patrolling at crowded places including markets bus stands and railway stations He directed police officers to activate control rooms and mobile patrolling The DGP said no unauthorised security be given to any individual without the proper order from him or the ADGP Security In case it has already been given it should be withdrawn within a day he said Chattopadhyaya asked them to continue the crackdown against drug smugglerssuppliers He exhorted police officers to work together to identify people involved in drug smuggling and said efforts should be made to work in tandem with the Special Task Force STF to curb the sale of narcotics PTI SUN RDK RDK

Chandigarh Oct 24 PTI The Congress government in Punjab never fulfilled promises made to farmers and used them as a vote bank alleged state AAP MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Sunday Sandhwan who is his partys farmer wing president said like former CM Amarinder Singh the Charanjit Channi-led government neither waived farmers debt nor compensated them for crop loss The Congress government has never fulfilled its promises made to the farmers and used them only as a vote bank he said Sandhwan demanded that the Channi government give full compensation to farmers whose crop was damaged by recent showers and pest attack He said due to inclement weather relaxation should be given on moisture content in paddy so that farmers do not have to face hassles in grain markets Sandhwan claimed that the government agencies procuring paddy were not lifting the crop on the pretext of high moisture content and farmers were facing a lot of inconvenience Sandhwan appealed to the CM to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put pressure on the Union government for relaxation in condition regarding moisture content Hitting out at the state and Union government he said they were not paying any heed to farmers concerns These governments are limited only to tall claims in the name of the farmers They have nothing to do with solving the problems of farmers he added PTI SUN RDK RDK

Chandigarh Aug 25 PTI The Haryana government has decided to reopen primary schools for Classes 4 and 5 from September 1 Education Minister Kanwar Pal said on Wednesday Students will be allowed to come to the school with prior written permission of their parents he said in an official statement Over a month ago schools in Haryana were reopened for Classes 9 to 12 Later students of Classes 6 to 8 were allowed to attend school However it has not made it mandatory for students to come to school as online classes are also continuing As per the guidelines issued last month only one student is allowed to sit on a desk and sharing of food or stationery items is prohibited A gap of at least six feet has to be maintained between two students and desks will bear name tags of students where they have to sit according to the guidelines Thermal scanning and hand sanitisation of students is to be done at the entrance of the school Masks are to be checked and provisions have to be made to provide one if a student is found not wearing a face cover PTI SUN RDK RDK

Chandigarh Aug 23 PTI A proposal to buy 1443 new vehicles for police has been sent to the state government for approval the Haryana Assembly was told on Monday Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala said during the Question Hour that the Haryana Police Department has 5095 vehicles available for performing duty Of these 2666 are light category 380 medium category 210 heavy category vehicles and 1839 two-wheelers he said Apart from this from the year 2019 to 2021 the state government has approved 32 new police stations and five police posts He said vehicles for carrying out police works in these newly set-up police stations and police posts have been arranged from the already available vehicles with the Police Department The minister said the Police Department needs some more new vehicles for smooth functioning PTI SUN RDK RDK