Punjab extends ban on gutkha, pan masala
Chandigarh: Punjab Food and Drugs Administration commissioner KS Pannu, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 30(2)(a)and in pursuance of Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, on Thursday ordered prohibition of manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of gutkha, pan masala (containing tobacco or nicotine), whether packaged or unpackaged or sold as one product or through packaged as separate products, available in the market, further for a period of one year in the whole of the State of Punjab, from the date of issue of notification in this respect. The notification to this effect has been issued in supersession of notification dated October 9, 2018, the spokesperson said.
PUNGRAIN procures 39% of total paddy
Chandigarh: Punjab Government agency, PUNGRAIN, tops the procurement chart by procuring 39 percent of the total paddy arrivals in various mandis across the state. An official spokesperson of the Government said that total procurement till October 9 has been to the tune of 3,26,839 metric tonnes out of which PUNGRAIN has procured 1,27,575 metric tonnes followed by MARKFED with 80,029 MT. The cumulative procurement by all government agencies includes 48,378 MT by PUNSUP, 38,116 MT by Punjab State Warehousing Corporation and 5,627 MT by FCI. Besides, private millers have procured 27114 metric tonnes of paddy from various mandis across the State.
PSEBEA suspends ‘erring’ CE
Patiala: The Punjab State Electricity Board Engineers’ Association (PSEBEA) on Thursday decided to suspend Chief Engineer (Border Zone) Sandeep Kumar from its primary membership. PSEBEA general secretary said that serious allegations of corruption have been levelled against Sandeep Kumar, who is a senior member of the association. In view of the same, Association office bearers have decided to immediately suspend him from its primary membership. Kumar has been directed to appear before PSEBEA disciplinary committee on October 15.
Mehandi stalls in Community Centers
Chandigarh: Keeping larger interests of citizens, the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh has decided to give permission to mehandi stalls inside the Community Centres for ‘Karwa chauth’ throughout city from October 15 to 17. The city mayor Rajesh Kumar said that these permissions will be given in all the community centres subject to the availability throughout Chandigarh, and the list of available community centres is available on the MCC’s official website — mcchandigarh.gov.in.
Tobacco items sale licence not feasable
Chandigarh: Federation of Retailer Association of India (FRAI), Punjab Chapter, on Thursday raised its concerns against the suggested requirement of obtaining license for selling tobacco products by small and micro retailers. FRAI members, addressing a press conference, said that this would lead to intense harassment of poor retailers and a sharp increase in the cost of doing business and reduction of their income. FRAI has sent an appeal to Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to protect the interests of over 1.5 lakh micro retailers and their family members.
Food safety teams on intensive checking
Chandigarh: Punjab Food Safety Teams are conducting intensive inspections of food items, and in a period of four months (between June to September), as many as 3548 food samples were collected and analysed, said the Tandrust Punjab Mission director KS Pannu on Thursday. He said that the samples include those of milk, cheese, ghee, khoya, sweets, namkeen, fruits and wine among others. Only 719 samples, which forms 20 percent of the samples collected, were found to be substandard but were found safe to be consumed while 31 samples which constitute less than one percent have been found unsafe for human consumption.
British Council organises workshop
Chandigarh: Powerful storytelling, today, is not only an art but an essential skill required in various professions. British Council is organizing a workshop called ‘Share your stories’ for teachers, trainers and aspiring storytellers of the city. Conducted by renowned storyteller from the UK - VergineGulbenkian, participants can explore varied styles of storytelling and retell traditional stories by learning a range of exercises at the workshop. International storyteller Vergine Gulbenkian focuses on communication through performance, enabling others to tell their stories.
Dialogue Highway Conducts Blind Walk 2019
Chandigarh: The much-awaited event of the year, Blind Walk 2019, took place on Thursday at Plaza, Sector 17, Chandigarh, in the presence of the flying Sikh, Milkha Singh. The event was conducted on the occasion of World Sight Day by Dialogue Highway, an initiative to discuss relevant environment, social and economical issues. The Blind Walk 2019 witnessed an overwhelming response from participants from across the tricity, creating awareness about the dire need for eye donation.