Punjab Govt puts 30 pvt schools on notice for violating directions

Chandigarh:  Days after the Punjab Government set up a task force to check ‘fleecing’ by private schools, 30 schools have been issued notices “for not following the government instructions”. “The Punjab Regulation of Fees of Unaided Educational Institutions Bill 2016 and 2019 have been violated by these schools. They have been asked to submit their response in this regard within seven days,” said the state School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains. He said that the Government has received a large number of complaints on the email addresses issued by him to file the complaints to prevent frivolous loots by private schools such as exorbitant fees hike, buying books of a particular publisher, frequently changing colour and design of uniforms and shoes, among other things. “In the last 24 hours, more than 1,600 complaints have been received on email, which have been sent to the Education Minister Task Force constituted at the district level, for redressal of the complaints. The task force will visit the schools to verify the facts and submit the report to the regulatory authority,” he said.

6 trains canceled due to farmers' protest in Gurdaspur

Chandigarh:  Six trains have been canceled due to a ''rail roko'' protest of the farmers' group Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) that entered its second day on Monday at the Batala railway station in Gurdaspur district. The farmers launched their indefinite protest on Sunday in support of various demands, including fair compensation for their land acquired for road projects and crop loss due to inclement weather.  According to railway officials, six trains, including the Pathankot to Verka, Amritsar to Pathankot, Amritsar to Qadian passengers, on the Amritsar-Pathankot section were cancelled on Monday due to the farmers' protest.  The protesters parked their tractors on the railway track at the station on Monday and raised slogans against the Centre and the Punjab government. Besides seeking a fair amount for land acquired for road projects, the farmers are also demanding compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre for crop loss due to untimely rains and hailstorms in the state.

Kisan Mitra to encourage farmers for cultivation of Basmati, cotton in Punjab

Chandigarh:  Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, holding a meeting with the Kisan Mitra through video conferencing after their appointment on Monday, urged them to encourage more farmers to grow diversified crops like cotton and Basmati instead of paddy.  “Kisan Mitras should play their pivotal role to encourage the farmers in maximum area. It is their main duty to take more farmers towards crop diversification to get them out of the cycle of wheat and paddy,” said Dhaliwal while expressing concern over the deepening level of underground water. He said that Kisan Mitra should continue to educate the farmers by continuously providing information as per the decision taken by the government about planting alternative crops like rice and basmati instead of paddy.