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 SAD chief told the media here that the party would stick to its core principles, including the need for a true federal structure, taking all sections of society and people from all religious faiths with it. He said SAD, the oldest regional party with a 102-year-old track record, would continue to rise to serve the regional aspirations of people of Punjab.
Police have also recovered a cache of 55 pistols of .32 bore and .30 bore from their possession. The accused were apprehended from Madhya Pradesh by the Counter Intelligence unit of Punjab Police with the help of its counterparts in Madhya Pradesh.
Lingayat seer Dr Murugha Shivamurthy Sharanaru, accused of raping minor girls, was finally taken into custody by the Karnataka Police on Thursday night - six days after the FIR against him was lodged. Police sources said the accused seer will be produced before a court on Friday.
Taking umbrage at the Union Minister's new plan on how the future of Chandigarh would be decided, Badal said: "It is not in the ambit of Shekhawat to take a decision on this matter. This is a closed chapter. The UT status of Chandigarh is purely temporary pending transfer to Punjab."
Mann said in another significant decision, the state government has now decided to appoint Chief Minister Field Officers as Nodal Officers for NRIs to ensure redressal of their grievances. He said that these officers will prove to be an ideal Nodal Officer for NRIs as they will be effectively able to coordinate across departments and districts, besides having a direct communication with the Chief Minister's Office.
The passengers were later identified as Moshin Khan Saifi and Asim. Saifi was supposed to travel from Delhi to Hyderabad by Vistara Flight, whereas Asim was supposed to travel from Delhi to Dubai by Air India Express flight.
