AAP members on hunger strike against "rigging" in Mayoral polls removed by police 

Chandigarh:  AAP councillors got into an argument with police after they were barred from entering the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation office on Monday on the second day of the party’s protest against the BJP over “rigging” in the recent mayoral polls. Five AAP workers, including a councillor, who sat on a hunger strike outside the municipal corporation office were also removed by the police. The police later detained all the protesters who had gathered at the site. The AAP councillors, led by Sunny Ahluwalia — the party’s Chandigarh co-incharge — raised slogans against the BJP and demanded action on the presiding officer for allegedly “tampering” with the ballot papers during the mayoral polls. The AAP councillors who tried to enter the municipal corporation office were barred from entry by the police personnel deployed on the premises, following which they got into an argument with them.  A large police contingent was deployed and barricades were erected outside the office. Ahluwalia had earlier said that from Sunday, five AAP members — one leader and four councillors — would observe a hunger strike. Another five members would sit on a hunger strike the following day.

7 held for committing a robbery by taking security personnel hostage

Gurugram: A crime branch team of the Gurugram police have arrested seven people for allegedly committing a robbery while holding two security guards in a warehouse of IREO Company located in Sector-58 area of Gurugram, police said. The complainant told the police on the intervening night of February 2 and 3 he along with his fellow guard was on night shift in the warehouse. During this, around 6 to 7 people jumped from the gate of the warehouse and two of them took them hostage and caused serious injuries and stole a large amount of electrical goods from the warehouse, loaded it in a car and took it away. Based on his complaint, a case was registered under relevant sections of the IPC at the Sector-56 Police Station in Gurugram.
During the probe, the police nabbed seven accused identified as Anuj alias Kalu, Sagar alias Bholi, Pawan, Akram Ansari, Haroon, Niazuddin alias Niazhu and Nazim. They all were arrested from different locations in Gurugram on Sunday.


State-Level Committee approves Rs 658 Crore Budget for PM POSHAN Scheme in Hry

Chandigarh: The State Level Steering-cum-Monitoring Committee for the Mid Day Meal Scheme (now PM POSHAN), which met under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal on Monday approved a budget of Rs 658 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal year, with the state contributing Rs 457.26 crore and the central government contributing Rs 200.74 crore. During the meeting, Kaushal emphasized the need for "special attention to better implementation and utilization of the PM Poshan Scheme so that children can get nutritious and protein-rich food." He urged officials to study best practices from other states and implement strategies to provide children with complete protein and nutritious meals.

First successful renal transplant surgery at PGIMS, Rohtak

Chandigarh: February 4 marked a historic moment as the first renal transplant surgery was successfully conducted at PGIMS, Rohtak, the first in the government facility in the State of Haryana. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar congratulated the medical team consisting of Transplant Surgeons Dr Vivek Thakur and Dr Gaurav Shankar Pandey and Nephrologists Dr Arun Dua and, Dr Ankur Goel and the Anesthesia team consisting of Dr Mamta, Professor, Dr Ashish, Assistant Professor and Dr. Asha, Assistant Professor along with their mentor Dr Ashish Sharma, Professor Renal Transplant Surgery, PGIMER Chandigarh to make this milestone possible. The team successfully transplanted both the kidneys of the brain dead donor patient to the two needy patients in PGIMS, Rohtak and also successfully managed to extract the liver of the donor and sent the same to ILBS, Delhi for Liver transplant, thus saving three lives.

Hry CM approves improvement of 9 ODR Roads in Panipat District worth more than Rs 19 crore

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday granted administrative sanction for the special repair and improvement of 9 ODR roads in Panipat District. This project will cost over Rs. 19 crore. The roads serving rural areas of production and providing them with outlet to market centres, tehsil headquarters, block development headquarters, railway stations etc. are known as Other District Roads (ODRs), said the official spokesperson.

Haryana Chief Secretary inaugurates two-day Conclave on Urban Planning

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal on Monday inaugurated a two-day conclave organized by High-Level Committee (HLC) for “Urban Planning” in collaboration with the Town and Country Planning Department, Haryana in Chandigarh. The conclave was attended by more than 100 participants including bureaucrats and technocrats from the Government of India and State Government Departments.

Punjab Speaker launches initiative to preserve Punjabi language on Google's Gemini AI platform

Chandigarh: To safeguard the cultural heritage and linguistic identity of Punjab, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Monday embarked on a pioneering endeavour to integrate Punjabi into Google's Gemini AI platform. Engaging in extensive discussions with various departments and esteemed Punjabi intellectuals, the Speaker's initiative marks a pivotal step towards preserving the rich tapestry of the Punjabi language in the digital age. Expressing his fervent commitment to the cause, Sandhwan underscored the pressing need for a comprehensive roadmap to ensure the inclusion of Punjabi on Google's innovative AI platform. Despite recent updates incorporating languages like Gujarati and Marathi, the absence of Punjabi highlighted a glaring gap in linguistic representation. Sandhwan emphasized the urgency of collating relevant vocabulary and data within the next six months, laying the foundation for Punjabi's integration into the digital realm. The initiative resonated deeply with the cultural significance of the Punjabi language, recognized as one of the top 10 most spoken languages globally. In the era of machine intelligence, the inclusion of Punjabi on Google's Gemini AI platform hold immense significance, empowering users to engage with technology in their native language.

Himachal budget to focus on improving financial condition of state, says CM Sukhu

Shimla: Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said the Himachal Pradesh budget for fiscal year 2024-25 would be framed with a focus on prosperity and improving the financial condition of the state. The Budget session of Himachal Pradesh would be held from February 14 to 29 and the budget would be presented on February 17. The government was working with the aim of 'Vyavastha Parivartan' (change in system) and focusing on rapid improvement in the financial condition of the state, Sukhu said in a programme in New Delhi, according to a statement issued here.  Sukhu said the government aims to develop Himachal Pradesh as a tourist destination for all seasons as conditions were ideal here to become round-the-year tourist destination with snow capped peaks, green meadows, water bodies and huge forest cover to cater to wide range of interests of tourists of all age groups. The tourism infrastructure is being strengthened by constructing heliports across the state to connect all district headquarters, he added.