*PPCB Chairperson Reena Gupta Interacts with Farmers at Sheron Village, Urges Collective Efforts to Prevent Paddy Straw Burning*

Chandigarh/Sangrur, October 20:Ms. Reena Gupta, Chairperson, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), visited village Sheron, Tehsil Sunam, District Sangrur, to interact with farmers regarding the challenges faced by them in managing paddy straw and to appeal for the complete prevention of paddy straw burning during the ongoing harvesting season.

During the visit, a Nukkad Natak highlighting the harmful effects of stubble burning on the environment, human health and soil quality was staged at the Village Panchayat Library. The Chairperson also reviewed the functioning of Crop Residue Management (CRM) machinery and interacted with farmers to understand their requirements and encourage the adoption of sustainable paddy straw management practices.

Dr. Lavneet Kumar Dubey, Member Secretary, PPCB; Er. Ravinder Bhatti, Chief Engineer; and Dr. Rajeev Gupta, Senior Engineer, PPCB, accompanied the Chairperson. Sh. Gagandeep Singh, SDM Sunam, also addressed the farmers and emphasised the importance of collective efforts by farmers and government departments to eliminate stubble burning.

Officers of the Agriculture Department informed the gathering that the State Government has made available both in-situ and ex-situ crop residue management machinery to facilitate the scientific management of paddy straw. They further apprised the farmers that cluster officers and nodal officers have been designated in the village to assist them in accessing and operating the required CRM machinery in a timely manner.

Rohit Singla, XEN, PPCB; Sh. Inderjit Singh, Agriculture Officer; and Sh. Gurinder Singh Bath were also present during the interaction.

During the meeting, the farmers assured the Chairperson and the district administration that no paddy straw would be burnt in village Sheron during the current season. The assurance reflects the importance of community participation, awareness generation and effective coordination among government departments in achieving the objective of a stubble-burning-free Punjab.

Subsequently, Ms. Reena Gupta visited a paddy straw pelletising plant at village Lohakhera to review its operations and assess the utilisation of paddy straw for producing biomass pellets. The plant representatives were directed to ensure that the pellets are supplied to brick kiln owners on priority, thereby facilitating the utilisation of paddy straw as an alternative fuel and strengthening the ex-situ crop residue management mechanism.

The visit underscored the Punjab Pollution Control Board's commitment to working in close coordination with farmers, the Agriculture Department and district administration to promote scientific crop residue management, prevent stubble burning and protect environmental quality across the State.

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*Vigilance Bureau nabs SHO red handed accepting bribe of Rs 1,00,000/-*

Chandigarh, 20 October 2026:The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing drive against corruption in the state, has apprehended Inspector Gulshan Kumar posted as Station House Officer(SHO), police station Dhar Kalan, Pathankot red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh as a first installment of a total bribe demand of Rs. 2.5 lakhs.

Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the state VB said the above-mentioned accused has been arrested based on a complaint lodged by a retired LIC Manager resident of Amritsar.

He stated that the complainant alleged that a quarrel took place at his younger brother's restaurant, Madhuban, situated at village Dhangu Sara, District Pathankot. In this incident, both parties sustained minor injuries, and FIR was registered at PS Dhar Kalan against restaurant's worker Krishna and three unidentified persons. The complainant's name was also mentioned in the case as a suspicious person. Accused Inspector Gulshan Kumar, SHO, PS Dhar Kalan, demanded Rs. 5,00,000/- as a bribe for removing the complainant's name from the case.

Upon request, the bribe amount was settled at Rs. 2,50,000/-, payable in installments, out of which Rs. 1,00,000/- was to be paid as the first installment. The conversation regarding the bribe demand was recorded by the complainant.

Unwilling to pay the illegal gratification, complainant approached the VB Range Amritsar. Acting on his complaint, the VB Unit Pathankot laid a trap during which accused Inspector Gulshan Kumar was arrested red handed while accepting bribe money of Rs 1,00,000/- from the complainant in presence of two official witnesses. The tainted currency has been recovered.

In this regard, a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against the accused at VB police station Amritsar and further investigation into this case is under progress.