Plan for Kandi area development

Chandigarh: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday directed the Medical Education and Research Department to ensure that the vacant seats for the MBBS and BDS courses under the NRI quota in the state’s medical and dental colleges are filled. Badal said the seats should be filled on the basis of PMET merit under the guidelines issued by Medical Council of India (MCI) and Dental Council of India (DCI) in a transparent manner. There are 63 MBBS seats and 175 BDS seats lying vacant under the NRI quota in various medical and dental colleges in the state,a CMO spokesperson said. Baba Farid University of Health Sciences,Faridkot will conduct counselling for NRI quota seats for MBBS on September 14 and for BDS on September 15,he added.

Punjab approves mega agri mission

Chandigarh: The Punjab government on Wednesday approved a ‘Mega Dairy and Poultry Mission’,opening a new vista for diversification in the agriculture sector. In a high-level meeting,Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal while approving the mega mission said the initiative was aimed at ensuring that the state held the top spot in the production of milk and poultry products.

14 teams for 3rd Kabbadi World Cup

Chandigarh: Around 14 countries are set to participate in the third edition of the Kabbadi World Cup,which will be held in the state between December 1-15. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal accompanied by Revenue and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka on Wednesday gave the final touches to arrangements for the event. Sukhbir said this year’s prize money has been doubled with the winners in the men’s section set to walk away with Rs 2 crore,while the runners-up will receive Rs1 crore and the third placed team Rs 51 lakh. In the women’s section the winning team will take home Rs 25 lakh,runners-up Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for the third placed team. The countries that are participating in the tournament in the men’s section include India,Pakistan,Afghanistan,Iran,Sri Lanka,Australia,Italy,USA,Canada,Denmark,Norway,Scotland,Kenya and Argentina. In the women section India,Kenya,Malaysia,USA,UK and Turkmenistan would participate.

Saragarhi battle in school syllabus

Chandigarh: Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday announced that the events of the Battle at Saragarhi will be included in the state’s school curriculum as a humble tribute to those 21 martyrs of the 36th Sikh Regiment of British Indian

Army,who laid down their lives fighting Pashtuns in 1897. Paying tributes to the martyrs on the Saragarhi day function organised at Gurudwara,Chandimandir,Sukhbir said the contingent of 36th Sikhs (now 4th Sikh Regiment) led by Havaldar Ishar Singh chose to fight to death rather than leave their posts. He added that the significance of the battle can be ascertained from the fact that Saragarhi is part of the eight collective stories of bravery published by UNESCO for children.

Russian real estate developers meet Sukhbir

Chandigarh: Boris Kiperman and Kirill Klimov of CMI Development,one of Moscow’s premier real-estate developers,on Wednesday called on Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and offered to invest in the state’s infrastructure sector. They claimed that CMI Development with a portfolio of $3 billion in the private investments has executed most unique projects in the Moscow. They added that they were interested in investing in Punjab as the state was keen on its infrastructure sector. Sukhbir,appreciating their interest,said Punjab was focusing on investing Rs 1 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector and was seeking the execution of all these projects by international companies.

Deputy CM comes to aid of blind athlete

Chandigarh: Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has come to the aid of a 25-year-old blind girl,who has made a mark in state and national level shot-put,discus throw,javelin besides being known for her dancing skills on various television shows. Noorie alias Balwinder Kaur,accompanied by her father,a driver,called on Sukhbir to plead her case. The deputy chief minister asked secretary,sports P S Aujla to work out the total treatment plan to restore Kaur’s eye sight and promised her that the Punjab government would pay for her treatment. He also said that once fully treated the government would provide her a coach for specialised training.

Snatcher who injured woman cop,held

Jalandhar: Jalandhar police commissionerate arrested a snatcher on Wednesday who had injured a woman DSP in an attempt to snatch her purse on Sunday. DSP Gurmail Kaur was posted at Punjab Armed Police (PAP) Jalandhar and was attacked by Suraj,while she was returning home with her daughter. Suraj has confessed to committing the crime.

Fancy number plates fetch Rs 13.24 lakh

Nawanshahr: During the auction of fancy numbers by the district transport department,Ludhiana-based Harbans Singh bid a whopping Rs 5 lakh for the number plate 0001. The department earned a total Rs 13. 24 lakh from the auction on Wednesday,including Rs 1.25 lakh each for No 0005 and No 0007.