Chandigarh, Nov 29 (IANS) The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has decided to deal promptly with the issues and grievances of the Punjabi diaspora.
It will organise five programmes called 'NRI Punjabiyan Nal Milni' to listen the plaints.
These programmes will be held in Jalandhar, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Ludhiana, Moga and Amritsar on December 16, 19, 23, 26 and 30, respectively.
After a review meeting with the NRI Affairs Department, the NRI Commission and the NRI Sabha, state NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said issues and complaints of NRI Punjabis will be resolved promptly as well as on the spot during these meetings.
He added that issues of NRIs belonging to Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar and Kapurthala will be listened and resolved during a meeting on December 16 at Jalandhar.
Similarly, the programme to be held at SAS Nagar on December 19 during which matters of diaspora belonging to SAS Nagar, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala districts will be resolved on the spot.
The Cabinet minister further said during the programme in Ludhiana on December 23, issues of NRIs of Ludhiana, Sangrur, Barnala and Malerkotla would be resolved.
He said at a programme in Moga and Amritsar on December 26, and 30 issues related to Moga, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Mukatsar, Fazilka, Bathinda, Mansa and Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Tarn Taran districts would be covered.
Dhaliwal said the basic facilities at the 15 NRI police stations will be improved.
"Rs 2 lakh will be given to every NRI Police Station and a total of Rs 30 lakh will be released soon," he added.
The minister said PCS-level officers will be deputed as nodal officers, who will resolve the issues and complaints of the concerned with the support of the district administration.
The Chief Minister extended warm greetings to the people, especially the Sikhs, on the historic Bandi Chhor Diwas, to mark the release from prison of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind, and 52 other princes with him, in 1619.
Tight security arrangements are being put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ayodhya on Sunday. International guests, diplomats, Union Ministers and celebrities are expected to join the Deepotsav festivities on Sunday. Key events will be organised at the Ram Katha Park.
Paying tributes to the martyrs, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the Punjab Police is an exceptional force which served the country both in times of peace and disturbance. He said 1,792 police officers had sacrificed their lives while fighting terrorism during the period from September 1981 to August 1992.
The spokesperson said the employees will be given option for adopting the old pension scheme or the new pension scheme. The old pension scheme was discontinued in 2004 and ever since then the employees are being given the new pension scheme. However, the employees have been since long demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme.
Two petitioners, engaged in storing and selling of green crackers, approached the High Court challenging the Delhi Pollution Control Committee's (DPCC) order to completely ban the manufacture, storage, sale, and bursting of all kinds of firecrackers till next year in the capital city. The plea stated that the air quality in New Delhi has been moderate or better at least since August 15 this year.
Meanwhile, according to sources in the know of things, Tharoor, who got 16 members from Kerala to put their signature in his nomination form, has managed to secure 130 votes out of the 297 votes from his home state, which is a very tall figure given the fact practically all the bigwigs from Kerala stood rock stock and barrel for Malikarjuna Kharge, who beat Tharoor by a mile.
