Ludhiana West By-Election

Punjab CEO Directs DC and Police Commissioner to Ensure Enhanced Vigilance during last 72, 48, and 24 hours before voting

- Strict monitoring ordered during the last 72, 48, and 24 hours before voting

- Arrangements to be made for voters' convenience in view of the heat

Chandigarh, June 16:Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sibin C held a video conference meeting on Monday to review the arrangements for the by-election to the 64-Ludhiana West Assembly Constituency. The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Himanshu Jain, Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma, and Returning Officer Rupinder Pal Singh.

During the meeting, the CEO instructed the district officials to exercise heightened vigilance in the final phase of the election process. He emphasized strict surveillance during the last 72, 48, and 24 hours before polling, and until the election process concludes.

Sibin C directed that all outsiders, including political leaders, must vacate the constituency area after the election campaign ends at 6 PM on June 17. He also emphasized strengthening 24x7 surveillance through CCTV to curb illegal distribution or smuggling of liquor, cash, drugs, or other inducements.

The CEO directed that strict action should be taken immediately upon receiving any complaint regarding attempts to influence voters through cash or freebies distribution.

In view of the hot weather, the Chief Electoral Officer instructed officials to ensure adequate facilities for voters at polling stations, including drinking water, 'chhabil', waiting areas, toilets, and sheds. He also urged that voters be encouraged to follow COVID-19 advisory guidelines issued by the Health Department.

Sibin C also reviewed the live webcasting of 100% polling stations for real-time monitoring and took stock of arrangements at polling booths, strong rooms, counting halls, and medical facilities. He directed that any violation of the Model Code of Conduct be dealt with promptly as per the Election Commission's guidelines.

The DC-cum-District Election Officer and Police Commissioner assured the CEO that all preparations for the by-election are complete and the election process will be conducted smoothly in accordance with Election Commission guidelines. They further assured that all directives given in the meeting would be implemented in a timely manner.

The meeting was also attended by Additional CEO Harish Nayar, Joint CEO Sakatar Singh Bal, Election Officer Anju Bala, and other senior officials from the CEO office.

Key Statistics of Voters and Polling Booths

Sibin C informed that the total number of registered voters in the Ludhiana West constituency is 1,74,437, comprising 89,602 male voters, 84,825 female voters, and 10 third-gender voters.

For the by-election, a total of 194 polling booths have been set up at 66 locations. These include 10 model polling booths, one all-women-managed booth, one eco-friendly "green" booth, and one booth operated by PWD staff. Additionally, 13 booths have been declared critical, where paramilitary forces will be deployed.

To facilitate senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and voters with medical issues, home voting was conducted, and a total of 239 voters participated in this initiative.

The CEO stated that voting will take place on June 19 from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and counting of votes will begin at 8:00 AM on June 23 at Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana, which has been designated as the counting center.

He added that security checkpoints have been established at 54 locations across the constituency, and all activities are being closely monitored by the security forces.

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Punjab Cabinet Sub-Committee Engages with 12 Employee Organizations, Assures Swift Action on Legitimate Demands

Chandigarh, June 16-The Cabinet Sub-Committee, led by Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, on Monday held extensive discussions with approximately a dozen employee organizations, addressing their demands and concerns. The committee directed concerned departments to expedite necessary actions to resolve legitimate issues in a time-bound manner.

The four-hour-long meetings, held at the Finance Minister's office in the Punjab Civil Secretariat, witnessed Cabinet Ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, and Dr. Ravjot Singh engaging in productive brainstorming sessions with representatives from various unions.

The employee organizations that participated in the meeting included the Computer Adhyapak Sangharsh Committee, Centre of Trade Union, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan/Mid Day Meal Daftari Karamchari Union, P.S. TET Pass D.P.E. Union, Berozgar P.S. TET Art and Craft Sangharsh Union, Democratic Teachers Front, Adarsh School Teaching and Non-Teaching Mulazam Union, PowerCom Transco Outsource Worker Union, Maanbhata Worker Sanjha Morcha, Punjab State Ministerial Service Union, and Joint Action Committee of Vets for Pay Parity.

During the meeting, the Cabinet Sub-Committee discussed in detail the points included in the demand letters submitted by the union leaders. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema directed the concerned departments to expedite necessary action to resolve the legitimate demands of the employees. He directed the Principal Secretary of the Animal Husbandry Department, Rahul Bhandari, the Secretary of Expenditure, V.N. Zade, the Secretary of Transport, Varun Roojam, the Secretary of Personnel, Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, and the Secretary of Education, Anindita Mitra, to take action in a time-bound manner to address the legitimate demands related to their respective departments.

The Finance Minister assured the employee organizations that their demands would be considered sympathetically and that efforts would be made to resolve them in a fair and timely manner. He reiterated the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab government's commitment to addressing the concerns of its employees and ensuring their welfare through constructive dialogue and timely action.

The meeting was attended by several union members, including Jolly Singla, Kuldeep Singh, Kulwinder Singh from Computer Adhyapak Sangharsh Committee, Dev Raj Verma, Makhan Singh, Jasmer Kaur from Centre of Trade Union, Rajinder Singh, Parveen Sharma, Jagmohan Singh from Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan/Mid Day Meal Daftari Karamchari Union, Ramanpreet Singh, Malkiat Singh, Hardeep Singh from P.S. TET Pass D.P.E. Union, Rakesh Kumar, Harbans Singh, Kirandeep Kaur from Berojgar P.S. TET Pass Art & Craft Sangharsh Union, Vikram Dev Singh, Mahinder Kumar, Dr. Tina from Democratic Teachers Front, Jasbir Singh, Amarjot Joshi, Sukhdeep Kaur from Adarsh School Teaching Te Non-Teaching Mulazam Union, Harvinder Sharma, Mandeep Singh, Mandeep Kaur from Powercom Transco Outsourced Worker Union, Mamta Sharma, Mandeep Kaur, Shakuntla Sharma from Maanbhata Worker Sanjha Morcha, Gurnam Singh Virk, Tarsem Singh, Anuj Kumarfrom Punjab State Ministerial Service Union, Dr. Jatinder Singh, Dr. Puneet, Dr. Jasleen Kaur from Joint Action Committee of Vets for Pay Parity, and Harminder Singh from Punjab Roadways State Transport Workers Union.

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Vigilance Bureau arrests Sanitation Inspector accepting Rs. 15,000 bribe

Chandigarh, June 16 2025: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing drive against corruption, arrested Sanitation Inspector Gurbinder Singh, posted at Municipal Council, Jalalabad, district Fazilka for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 15,000.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the arrest has been made following a complaint lodged by a resident of Jalalabad.

He further added that the complainant has approached the VB alleging that the accused Inspector had demanded a bribe Rs. 20,000 for clearing the bills pertaining to sanitation works executed by him in the city but the deal has been struck at Rs 15000.

The spokesperson further informed that after preliminary verification of this complaint, the VB team laid a trap during which the aforementioned accused was apprehended while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 15000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

In this regard a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the MC employee at the VB police station, Ferozepur Range. He would be produced in the competent court tomorrow and further investigation into this case was under progress, he said.

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DAY 107 OF ‘YUDH NASHIAN VIRUDH’: 102 DRUG SMUGGLERS HELD WITH 688-GMs HEROIN, ₹26K DRUG MONEY

— AS PART OF ‘DE-ADDICTION’, PUNJAB POLICE CONVINCE 55 PERSONS TO UNDERGO DE-ADDICTION TREATMENT

CHANDIGARH, June 16:With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state completed 107 days, Punjab Police on Monday arrested 102 drug smugglers and recovered 688 grams heroin, 105 kg poppy husk, 2164 intoxicant pills and Rs 26910 drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 17,749 in just 107 days.

The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.

Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.

Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1400 police personnel, under the supervision of 95 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 479 locations across the state leading to the registration of 76 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 504 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.

The Special DGP said that with the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 55 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

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PUNJAB TAKES MAJOR DECISION ON RC & DL BACKLOG; REGISTRATION POWERS DELEGATED TO REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

DECISION TO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT RELIEF TO PUBLIC; CITIZENS CAN AVAIL BENEFITS BY FOLLOWING PRESCRIBED PROCESS: LALJIT SINGH BHULLAR

Chandigarh, June 16:The Punjab Government has taken a major decision by delegating the powers of registration and renewal of Registration Certificates (RC) and Driving Licenses (DL) to regional authorities to complete the backlog work of RC and DL registration and renewal accumulated over several years and provide big relief to the general public.

While providing further information, Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar said that citizens of the state can avail this relief by following a prescribed process, adding that applicants can now get their old vehicles and driving licenses digitized online and renew the related documents. The lack of approvals for documents related to renewal of old RCs and DLs and their non-digitization had become a major obstacle, he added.

The Cabinet Minister informed that the instructions have been issued to all Registering and Licensing Authorities in Punjab to complete the backlog. He said, documents that do not meet the conditions of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will be processed according to the conditions laid down in the letter issued by the State Transport Commissioner's office on May 24, 2024.

S. Bhullar said that for RC and DL backlog matters, a verified affidavit from the Executive Magistrate will be obtained, which must include entries regarding online digitization through backlog, validity period, category, manual issuing authority, tax payment status, NOC of any dues and accuracy of all information.

The Transport Minister said that when uploading complete information online for RC backlog, it has been made mandatory to upload a physical inspection report with complete details of chassis and engine numbers verified by the Motor Vehicle Inspector for the vehicle bearing the registration number. He said that instructions have been given to upload vehicle transfer records of different individuals during RC backlog processing so that records of previous owners can also be preserved.

S. Laljit Singh Bhullar informed that backlog driving licenses can be applied through the earlier issuing authority and instructions have been given for approval by the licensing authority after the dealing staff uploads authenticated/verified copies of previously and subsequently issued licenses in the Sarathi software to the office records. He stated that during this process, it has been made mandatory to upload the original copy of the license and proof of birth/address.

The Transport Minister said that to complete the backlog work transparently, a permanent departmental employee will register the driving license/RC related backlog entry in the office on behalf of the applicant, verify it on the transport portal and subsequently get it approved by the concerned authority. He clarified that the complete responsibility for any incorrect entry will lie with the concerned registration and licensing authority. He said that the concerned authorities will ensure sending daily reports of RC and DL backlog approvals to the headquarters in the prescribed proforma.