Expedite paddy lifting: Secretary

Hoshiarpur: Taking stock of the ongoing procurement of paddy, Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Secretary, Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs, said no laxity in procurement, payment to farmers and lifting of crop would be tolerated. Singh was reviewing the procurement in the district at the DAC during a meeting with all concerned officers/officials and directed to expedite the lifting in mandis. He also asked them to be vigilant during the procurement operations so that the procurement could be ensured seamless in the mandis besides timely payment to farmers after purchase of their crop. The Secretary also directed the DC to regularly monitor the procurement being done by the respective agencies besides taking appropriate action in case of any lapse. DC Apneet Riyait said so far 1,08,551 metric tonne paddy arrived in the mandis, out of which 1,07,605 metric tonne had been procured with a payment worth Rs158.56 crore to farmers. OC

In Kapurthala, 33% paddy procured

Jalandhar: As many as 33% of paddy had been procured in Kapurthala district till October 16, out of an estimated target of 8 lakh metric tonnes (MT) across the district. Deputy Commissioner Deepti Uppal said the procurement work in all permanent 42 and 21 temporary mandis in Kapurthala was going on a war footing. She said the probable target of procurement in the district was 8 lakh metric tonnes out of which 2,68,281 metric tonnes had been procured till October 16. TNS

4 mobile phones seized from jail

Hoshiarpur: The Hoshiarpur Central Jail authorities recovered four mobile phones from different barracks. On the complaint of the jail officials, the police have booked three persons. The jail’s assistant superintendent Sarabjit Singh said a mobile phone was recovered from an envelope lying near a bathroom of barrack number 14 and 15 on Friday. Apart from this, one cell phone (each) was recovered from undertrial Sandeep Singh, Rakesh Kumar alias Gaurav and Satnam Singh alias Satta, from Barrack No 15 and 16, respectively. OC

Two arrested with stolen bike

Hoshiarpur: The Garhshankar police have recovered a stolen bike from the possession of two persons at a naka. According to the police, the accused have been identified as Satnam Singh alias Satta, a resident of Tapriyan, and Nirjan Singh alias Nanjo, a resident of Sadarpur. Police said the accused were going to purchase intoxicants on the stolen bike when they were apprehended. OC

Country-made pistol seized

Hoshiarpur: Acting on a tip-off, the Dasuya police raided a house of Abhishek Singh Rana alias Shaktiman, a resident of Pasi Kandi village, on Saturday. The raiding party recovered a country-made pistol hidden under a sofa. Police said a case has been registered under the Arms Act against Shaktiman. OC