'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.
Gurjot Singh Kaler, working as a senior police officer in Punjab as AIG (Excise and Taxation), was awarded with the Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh State Youth Award at the Hussainiwala Border in Ferozepur district on the anniversary of Bhagat Singh that falls on Thursday.
With the arrest of five men, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police has busted a racket that indulged in smuggling and selling skin of Royal Bengal Tigers, an official said on Wednesday. The accused have been identified as Amir Khan, Deepak Kumar, Mohit, Shivam Sisodia, and Rahul Rawat, all residents of NCR.
On expiry on Sisodia's ED custody, which was extended on March 17, he was produced before Special Judge M.K. Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court. The judge said: "We will send him to judicial custody till April 5." Sisodia is already in judicial custody in the corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that reducing the regional divide is one of the key priority areas for India during its G20 presidency. Modi said this after inaugurating the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area office and Innovation Centre in India at a programme in Vigyan Bhawan here.
The Chief Minister categorically said this move of the hill state's government is illegitimate and irrational. He said Punjab has legitimate right over the river waters and no one can snatch it from the state. The state will not pay even a single penny for the water flowing through its land.
In a video message, the Chief Minister said Punjab symbolises peace and progress as from this sacred land the great Sikh gurus have given the message of universal brotherhood and well-being of every section to the people.
