Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday said that age old family ties of Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa with operatives in Pakistan were behind the theory that 50 bombs have been smuggled into the state as intelligence agencies have no inputs regarding it.

In a statement, the Chief Minister said that it is well known fact that Bajwa family is well connected with the Pakistani operatives since decades due to which he is getting such irrational and baseless information. He said that while intelligence agencies have no such inputs Bajwa’s friend sitting across the border must have told him about their plans to disrupt peace and progress in the state. Bhagwant Singh Mann asked the Congress leader to substantiate his claim or face action for creating panic amongst people.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday felicitated the Punjabis across the globe on the sacred occasion of the 'Sajna Divas of the Khalsa Panth' and 'Baisakhi' that symbolize the spirit of Punjab, Punjabi and unity in diversity.

The Chief Minister, who paid obeisance at Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib, sought blessings of almighty to give enormous strength to him for serving the people of state with all humility and dedication. He offered prayers at Gurdwara sahib and reiterated the firm commitment of his government to serve the people of the state regardless of caste, colour, creed and religion to create a harmonious society. Bhagwant Singh Mann thanked the Almighty for bestowing upon him the responsibility to serve the people of Punjab with sincerity, dedication and commitment to fulfill their aspirations.

Underthe directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has initiated a special drive to educate farmers on safeguarding their wheat crops from fire.

Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO announced on Saturday that farmers are being advised to take necessary precautions to prevent fire hazards. The initiative aims to reduce fire incidents caused by loose or low-hanging electric wires, G.O. switches, and other electrical faults.

Reiterating firm commitment of the state government to save the groundwater of the state for coming generations, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday announced to start zone wise cultivation of the paddy from June 1.

“We have divided the state into three zones and the cultivation of paddy will start in the district falling in three zones On June 1, June 5 and June 9”, said the Chief Minister while addressing the gathering during Sarkar Kisaan Milni here today.

The Chief Minister said that Punjab is the food bowl of the country as it contributes 45% of grains in the national food pool. However, he bemoaned that in 70 days of paddy season Punjab pumps out water equal to nine Gobind Sagar lakes, which is a huge quantity. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that by pumping out so much water we will deprive our coming generations from water which is the basic ingredient of our existence.

In a decisive move to stabilise and revive the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Sukhbir Singh Badal was re-elected as the party President during a key meeting held at the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) headquarters in Amritsar on Saturday.

The election, held in the historic Teja Singh Samundri Hall — the administrative hub of the SGPC — saw participation from 500 representatives hailing from all 117 Assembly constituencies across Punjab.

Interestingly, Badal’s re-election was sealed without a formal introduction by Working President Balwinder Singh Bhunder, suggesting unanimous support from the party cadre.

Badal’s return marks a significant turnaround following his resignation in November last year, after being declared 'tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct)' by the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Desh Bhagat Hospital recently organized an interactive session for Desh Bhagat University’s teaching and non-teaching staff, aiming to promote its specialized medical services. The event, held under the supervision of Dr. Kulbhushan (Director DBAC&H) and Dr. Jyoti H Dhami (Medical Superintendent DBH), featured Dr. BL Bharadwaj, Pro Vice Chancellor Medical and a senior medicine specialist with over 35 years of experience, alongside ENT specialist Dr. Raminder Kaur.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann will have a direct dialogue with the farmers of the state during first of its kind ‘Sarkar-Kisan Milni’ slated to take place at Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana on April 12 to save the precious groundwater of the state by promotion of less water guzzling varieties of paddy.

The Kisan Milni will be held at PAU on Saturday in which more than 1100 farmers are likely to take part. Several stalls will be installed during the Sarkar Kisan Milni to make the farmers aware about several initiatives being taken by the state government. The special Sarkar Kisan Milni will focus on making the farmers aware about cultivation of paddy before the starting of paddy season.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Friday that striking a major blow to the cross-border drug smuggling amid the ongoing anti-drugs campaign 'Yudh Nashian Virudh', Punjab Police's Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) have apprehended a key drug trafficker and recovered 18.2 kg heroin from his possession.

The arrested drug smuggler has been identified as Hira Singh, alias Hira, a resident of Khaira village in Amritsar district.

DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that accused Hira Singh and his associate, Kulwinder Singh, alias Kinda, of Dauke village in Amritsar, were in touch with Pakistan-based drug trafficker identified as Billa.

The latter has been using drones to drop the large consignments of heroin from across the border for the past one year, he added.

The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has decided to promulgate an Ordinance to provide adequate representation to members of SC community for contractual engagement as law officers in the state.

A decision to this effect was taken the Council of Ministers in a meeting held here under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister here at his official residence today.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that Cabinet gave nod to promulgate an ordinance to amend Punjab Law Officers Engagement Act 2017. This step is aimed to relax income criteria for contractual engagement of Law officers belonging to SC Community in the state by reducing the existing desired annual income slab by 50%. The purpose of relaxation in income criteria is to provide adequate representation to members of SC community for contractual engagement as law officers in AG Office, Punjab.