In the backdrop of the heat generated by the army aspirants in the state, polling to Haryana"s 28 municipal committees and 18 municipal councils will be held on Sunday.
While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) alliance and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are fighting these polls on party symbols, the Congress is not fighting the election on the party symbol, but many Congress members have entered the fray as Independents. The results will be declared on June 22.
While the leaders of the ruling alliance have been wooing the voters on developmental plank and the achievements of the combine, the Opposition has been targeting the BJP-JJP on a host of issues including alleged corruption, unemployment and lack of civic amenities. On the eve of the polls, Haryana"s BKU (Chaduni) leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni, in a video message on Saturday, hit out at the Centre"s Agnipath defence recruitment scheme and urged the voters in Haryana municipal polls to "teach the BJP a lesson".
According to officials, the polling will be held for the seats of President and members of all wards of 28 municipal committees and 18 municipal councils. The voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm, Commissioner, Haryana State Election Commission, Dhanpat Singh said on Saturday.
On June 18 and 19 and on June 22, which is the day of the counting of votes, a dry day has been declared in the electoral areas, meaning that liquor shops will remain closed and there will be no sale of alcohol. Dhanpat Singh said there are a total of 456 wards of 18 municipal councils. There are 12.60 lakh voters in 18 municipal councils, out of which 6,63,870 are male, 5,96,095 female and 35 transgender voters. He informed that a total of 1,290 polling booths have been set up for the municipal elections, out of which 289 have been declared "sensitive" and 235 "hyper-sensitive". A total of 6,450 polling staff, 82 duty magistrates and 7,087 police officers and employees have been appointed at these polling booths.
Rain brings respite from heat in Haryana, Punjab; temperature dips
Chandigarh: Many places in Haryana and Punjab registered a drop in maximum temperature on Saturday after rain lashed both the states a day ago, MeT department here said. The drop in mercury provided the much sought after respite to the masses from scorching heat that persisted in the Northwest region for the past few weeks. According to the Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature in Chandigarh, the common capital of both the states, plummeted to 31.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday from 37.2 degrees Celsius on Friday. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 41.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday. The maximum temperature dropped well below normal at most places after Friday's rain, the department added. In Haryana's Ambala, the maximum temperature was recorded at 29 deg C on Saturday. Meanwhile, Karnal recorded a high of 30.3 deg C, Kurukshetra-29.7 deg C, Hisar-35 deg C and Rohtak-36.5 deg C. In Punjab, Jalandhar recorded a high of 27.4 deg C, Patiala-28.2 deg C and Amritsar and Ludhiana, identical highs of 28.4 deg C. Pathankot too registered a high of 32.4 deg C, whereas Bathinda's maximum settled at 33 deg C.
Himachal Governor presides over valedictory function of International Literature Festival
Shimla: Presiding over the valedictory function of the International Literature Festival at the historic Gaiety Theatre, Shimla on Saturday, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said that the basic nature of literature was related to publication. The thoughts which were based on truth in your mind should be published and expressed in front of the society, he added. He stressed on the need to bring the anonymous faces of the freedom movement and events should be brought forward through literature. He supported the idea of giving literary status to film scripts. Arlekar said that it is necessary to read literature and reading habits should be inculcated amongst children. He appealed to the Sahitya Akademi that the International Literature Festival should be the regular feature in Shimla. Earlier, President, Sahitya Akademi, . Chandrashekhar Kambar, welcomed the Governor and apprised about the sessions of literary festival. Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, K. Srinivasa Rao proposed a vote of thanks.
Himachal CM to virtually attend closing ceremony of second round of Mahaquiz in Baddi
Shimla: The closing ceremony of the second round of Jan Bhagidari se Sushasan-Himachal Ka Mahaquiz would be held at Baddi on Sunday. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will virtually attend the closing ceremony of the second round based on the theme of Industry and Investment and will address the winners. Industries Minister Bikram Singh will be the chief guest at the function. The best performing participants in the second round will be given a prize money of Rs.1,000 each. Online competition based on the schemes of the central and state Governments is being organized for the first time in Himachal Pradesh. It has been named as Jan Bhagidari se Sushasan-Himachal Ka Mahaquiz. There are a total eight rounds of Mahaquiz out of which three rounds have been completed. All the rounds of Mahaquiz are based on different themes which was launched by the Chief Minister on 11th May.
Director PGIMER reviews the progress at PGI Satellite Centre, Una
Chandigarh: Prof. Vivek Lal, Director PGIMER visited PGI Satellite Centre site at Una to review the project on Saturday. He was accompanied by a high level team comprising Kumar Gaurav Dhawan, Deputy Director Administration, Vipin Koushal, Medical Superintendent, Kumar Abhay, Financial Advisor and R.K.Sehgal, Nodal Officer. During interaction with the officials of the local administration and the executing agency HITES, the visiting team was apprised of the progress on the upcoming Centre. The Director PGIMER directed them for timely execution of the project. The executing agency was also instructed for the completion of the milestones as per the stipulated timelines. The interaction was followed by a site visit of the PGI Satellite Centre. Later, the Director visited the temporary OPD of the PGI Satellite Centre, Una being run at local Civil Hospital where he interacted with doctors, paramedics and patients and enquired about the facilities being provided to the patients there.
