Chandigarh: Punjab’s April revenue surged following double-digit growth in value-added tax (VAT) and state development tax (PSDT) collections. Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced a combined ₹265 crore increase on Sunday, crediting the boost to stringent enforcement and transparent administration.VAT collections rose 23.28%, adding about ₹230 crore to the state exchequer. Simultaneously, PSDT revenue grew…
Bathinda: Untimely rain and strong winds lashed several parts of Punjab on Sunday, raising concerns over nearly 50 lakh metric tonnes of wheat lying in mandis awaiting lifting.In Hoshiarpur, a man was injured after electricity poles collapsed during a squall. Officials said a major mishap was averted as power supply had been shut.Punjab recorded 127%…
Chandigarh: The Punjab Congress has denounced the Aam Aadmi Party govt’s proposed “Drug and Socio-Economic Census”, warning that the initiative will stigmatise the state and serve as a taxpayer-funded data-mining exercise.State Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring questioned the legitimacy of this census on Sunday, arguing that families were unlikely to disclose drug use to…
Amritsar: In a weekend sweep, police seized seven foreign-made pistols and 12 kg heroin smuggled from Pakistan.Four men — Samarbir Singh, 21, Satnam Singh, 23, Tanupreet Singh, 26, and Karanjot Singh, 26 — are under arrest in the case where the cache included two 9mm Austrian-made Glocks and five .30-bore pistols, some of Chinese origin….
Amritsar: The Akal Takht has summoned Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on May 8 to explain why the Sikh high priests were not consulted before the state govt passed the tougher anti-sacrilege Act on April 13 and rejected provisions requiring detailed administrative records of the ‘saroops’ of Guru Granth Sahib.Officiating jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh…
Bathinda: Punjab’s wheat procurement is in its final phase, with over 98% of the estimated 122 lakh tonnes having arrived in mandis by Sunday. Of the 119.9 lakh tonnes received, about 118.8 lakh tonnes (99%) has been procured.However, lifting remains slow, with only 66.3 lakh tonnes (around 56%) moved so far. Officials said 1.16 lakh…
Amritsar: Lying deep in the fertile plains between Amritsar and Lahore, a once-thriving utopian colony that stood as a testament to communal harmony before the bloodletting of Partition in 1947 is being rediscovered by a new generation of Punjabi litterateurs.Recently, the Punjab language department marked the birth anniversary of Gurbakhsh Singh Preetlari, the visionary civil…
Amritsar: A youth, identified as Amarjot Singh, was shot dead on Mehsimpura Road in Amritsar, with the case initially mistaken for a road accident.Senior superintendent of police (rural) Suhail Qasim Mir said the incident occurred on Friday evening on an isolated stretch of road. Passersby spotted a motorcycle lying on the road and found the…
Fazilka: A clash broke out between a police team and locals during a land dispute in Fazilka on Sunday, with personnel allegedly manhandled and a video of the incident going viral. Police said at least eight people have been booked in the case, including four named accused. Two have been arrested so far, while efforts…
Bathinda: The crop residue burning cases continued to rise in Punjab and Haryana, with the two states recording 661 incidents on Sunday.Punjab reported 417 crop residue burning cases, pushing the cumulative total in the state so far this season to 2,820. In the last seven days, Punjab registered 2,551 cases.Sangrur remained the worst-affected district with…
