'Open US consulate in Chandigarh', Punjab Gov writes to EAM
Darpan News Desk IANS, 16 Jun, 2023 01:12 PM
Chandigarh, June 16 (IANS) Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit has written to the External Affairs Ministry (EAM) urging it to open a US Consulate in Chandigarh.
The Governor said the Punjabis are adventurous who travel all over the world. They also form a sizeable segment of the Indian diaspora in the US.
"The specialty of this segment is that its members are conscious of their roots and are in constant touch with their people back home in India. This makes a good case for a US consulate in Chandigarh, which is the nerve centre of Punjabi culture," Purohit wrote.
The Governor, who is also the Administrator of Chandigarh, referred to the demand for an additional consulate in India, which is being pressed for even in the US by influential Congressmen, which further bolsters the demand.
The letter mentions that India has five consulates in the US, while the US has only four in India.
The Governor said if a US Consulate is opened in Chandigarh, it will serve the purposes to tap the social, economic and cultural dimensions of the state, as he requested the External Affairs Ministry to pursue the matter with appropriate US authorities.
Special judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court will pronounce the order on April 26. On Monday, the court had extended Sisodia's judicial custody by two weeks in the case.The probe agency had also said that the 60 days given to complete the investigation against Sisodia are not over yet.
The Chief Minister said: "Before 2017, the state was infamous for riots. More than 700 riots rocked the state between 2012 and 2017. But not a single riot broke out after 2017. Earlier, just the names of many districts scared people. Now there is no need to be scared.
On April 5, the ED had informed Judge Nagpal that it has found fresh evidence indicating Sisodia's involvement in the alleged excise scam, and the investigation is at a crucial stage. The court had extended AAP leader's custody till April 17 in this case.
In three separate incidents, the Customs Officials posted at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport have arrested three persons who were supplying 3 kg gold worth Rs 1.68 crore. A Customs Official said that all three are Indian nationals who arrived from Middle East. They were intercepted and held on the basis of intelligence inputs.
A soldier died of a gunshot wound at around 4.30 p.m on Wednesday. He was on sentry duty with his service weapon. The weapon and cartridge case from the same weapon was found next to the soldier, it said. The gunshot wound was near the right temporal region. He was immediately evacuated to the Military Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.
Alok Kumar, DCP Special Cell, said: "On April 8, acting on a secret information, the police laid a trap near Ghazipur Subzi Mandi and two key members of the syndicate were finally held with 2 kg of heroin." During questioning, Mohammad Alam disclosed that he had been supplying heroin for the last two years to different people in Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
