Heavy rainfall in Himachal till August 6 MeT office

Shimla: The meteorological office on Friday issued a ‘yellow’ alert for heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning in isolated places in ten out districts of Himachal Pradesh till August 6. It also cautioned of the possibility of landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas and damage to plantations and standing crops and houses due to strong winds, and waterlogging in low-lying areas. Meanwhile, light rains continued in parts of the state. Kasol recorded 33 mm of rain followed by 19 mm in Seobagh, 11 mm in Hamirpur, 10 mm in Manali, 7.2 mm in Nahan, 7 mm each in Nadaun and Bilaspur, 6 mm in Jubbarhatti, 3 mm each in Dharamshala, Solan and Keylong and 2 mm each in Mandi and Chamba. Shimla received light showers. Rain-related incidents have claimed 73 lives since the onset of monsoon on June 27 till August 1 and the state has also suffered losses to the tune of Rs 649 crore, according to the state's Emergency Operation Centre.  Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti was coldest at night recording a low of 12.5 degree Celsius while Una was hottest during the day recording a high of 36.4 degree Celsius.

Cylinder Burst in Ferozepur: Punjab Child’s panel directs Admn to bear full treatment costs for injured children

Chandigarh: Punjab State Child Rights Protection Commission has taken a suo motu cognizance of media reports regarding the injuries of five children due to a cylinder burst at Gurudwara Jamani Sahib in Ferozepur district. The Commission has issued a letter to the District Administration, seeking a comprehensive report on the incident by August 6, 2024. Commission chairman Kanwardeep Singh on Friday said that the District Administration has been directed to ensure all necessary medical services are provided to the injured children, and also instructed to bear the entire cost of the treatment for the injured children.

Include regional languages in constitutional appointment notifications: Punjab Speaker to Prez

Chandigarh: Citing the recent appointment of Punjab Governor, where the notification was read out solely in English and Hindi, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Friday urged the President of India to include regional languages in all official notifications related to constitutional appointees. Sandhwan, in a letter to the President, highlighted, “On July 31, 2024, during the oath ceremony of the Governor of Punjab, the appointment notification issued by your Secretariat was read in English and Hindi. Unfortunately, the notification was not available in Punjabi. This omission has caused disappointment and concern among the people of Punjab.” He proposed that all notifications, related to constitutional appointees, should include the regional language alongside English and Hindi.

Punjab VB arrests Police Inspector for accepting Rs 6L bribe

Chandigarh: Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday arrested police Inspector Vijay Kumar, who was earlier posted as in-charge CIA Samana, Patiala district, for accepting a bribe of Rs six lakh in conniving with co-accused Raghvir Singh — the assistant sub-inspector (ASI). Spokesperson said the Inspector Vijay Kumar has been arrested in an FIR, dated October 23, 2023, under section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act registered at VB police station Patiala range. Earlier, ASI Raghvir Singh was arrested in this FIR and after his interrogation Inspector Vijay Kumar was also nominated in this case. The complainant has alleged, in his online complaint, that the accused ASI had demanded illegal gratification of Rs 10 lakh for joining an investigation of a case registered against him in Samana police station and had already taken Rs six lakh as a bribe on April 2, 2023, and asking for the remaining money of Rs four lakh.

Hry Speaker raises issue of flaws in voter’s list with State Chief Electoral Officer

Chandigarh: Haryana Assembly Speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta on Friday met State Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Aggarwal and demanded to remove the flaws in voter’s lists. He also handed over a copy of the letter written to the Chief Election Commissioner of India on July 27 and survey documents showing errors in the voter’s list.  On the occasion, he also talked in detail about these errors. According to Gupta, the names of persons who died and left the constituency have not been removed. Names of some persons are being found in two different places. He demanded to remove the errors in the voter's list.

JJP appoints district in-charges & district presidents in all 22 districts

Chandigarh: Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) on Friday appointed district in-charges and district presidents in all 22 districts under the organization's reconstruction. JJP National President Ajay Singh Chautala, former Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, JJP State President Brij Sharma and many other senior leaders discussed and released the list of appointments of 29 district in-charges and district presidents. JJP has appointed Mandeep Boparai in Ambala, Sajjan Balali in Dadri, Pradeep Chaudhary in Faridabad, Ravindra Beniwal in Fatehabad, Sheochand Yadav in Gurugram, Gurdev Rambha in Karnal and Kuldeep Jakhwala in Kurukshetra as district presidents. Manish Sharma in Mahendragarh, Devendra Sorot in Palwal, OP Sihag in Panchkula, Ram Niwas Patwari in Panipat, Ashok Verma in Sirsa, Raj Singh Dahiya in Sonipat, Vijay Panch Gurjar in Rewari and Gurvinder Tejali in Yamunanagar will be JJP district presidents.

Draft voter list Published; Citizens can check their names, says CEO Haryana

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal on Friday said that the draft voter list has been published on August 2 in preparation for the upcoming general assembly elections. Any citizen or representative of political parties can check the names and other details of the electors in these draft lists. If there are any errors, claims and objections can be filed through Form-8 by August 16, he added. Agarwal further said that the resolution of claims and objections will be completed through the District Election Officer by August 26. The final voter lists will be published on August 27, 2024. He urged young boys and girls who have completed the age of 18 to register their votes before the Haryana Assembly elections and participate in the democratic process to contribute to the development of the state and country. The Chief Electoral Officer said that the Election Commission of India has streamlined the process for including names in the voter list. Previously, the qualifying date was considered to be January 1, with the process conducted once a year. Now, new votes can be registered four times a year, on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1.

Hry Transport Minister orders suspension of Power Department Executive Engineer

Chandigarh: Haryana Minister of State for Transport, Women and Child Development Aseem Goel Naneola on Friday, while taking a strict cognizance of the improper handling of complainants. has directed suspension of the Executive Engineer of the Power Department. Besides this, he also directed to issue show cause notice to another Executive Engineer of the Power Department and the DETC (District Excise and Taxation Officer) of the Excise Department for being absent without permission.

Hry Minister suspends official and assistant for casting fake votes

Chandigarh: Haryana Minister of State for Transport, Women and Child Development Aseem Goel Naneola, has directed the suspension of a manager and his assistant for irregularities in the cooperative society elections held in Yamunanagar district. The Minister gave these directions while presiding over the District Redressal Committee meeting in Yamunanagar today.  During the meeting, a total of 12 complaints were heard. Of these, 11 were resolved on the spot by directing the officers, while one complaint was deferred to the next meeting.

Hry Education Minister felicitates meritorious students, teachers

Chandigarh: Haryana Minister of State for Education Seema Trikha said that the true goal of schools is not just to impart bookish knowledge but also to instill values and strengthen moral character. The objective of schools is to foster a sense of respect for the nation among children, she said while addressing district-level School Management Committee (SMC) training-cum-conference in Fatehabad district. She also inspected the exhibition set up by the students.  Trikha felicitated students who performed exceptionally well, along with officials of the school management committee and education department officers and teachers, by presenting them with certificates and shields. She directly interacted with the SMC presidents and invited their suggestions.