Punjab’s education minister, Harjot Singh Bains, 1,378 security guards have been hired for all senior secondary government schools. Bains, who was presiding over a programme at a local government school, said these security guards would be responsible for the students safety as well as making sure they didn’t leave the school grounds while they were in class.

According to him, security guards will be present at all senior secondary schools with a student body of more than 500.

The minister stated that these security officers will be stationed at the entrance and exit points of the schools and will keep track of visitors in addition to ensuring that no student exits the facility during school hours without the principal’s consent.

The state government has launched a particular initiative to modernise the educational system by building new schools, the minister said.

Harjot Singh Bains made the announcements while he was in the city and said they had been initiated to address the widespread thefts and security issues within civic-run educational institutions.

A total of Rs 66.15 lakh has been set up in the Ludhiana district for the deployment of guards at 189 government schools, including illustrious establishments like the Government Model Senior Secondary Schools in Model Town, Cemetery Road, PAU, and Miller Ganj (Dholewal).

The decision was made in response to an increase in theft instances at government schools, which as of right now have few security measures.

He said that the government had allocated Rs 250 crore for the construction of perimeter fences at all government schools.

Similarly, Bains indicated that close to 2,000 campus managers would be hired to oversee the upkeep of the educational facilities. He said that for the first time, money has been given to schools for hygiene.

Depending on the number of students in a school, the government will distribute between Rs 3,000 and Rs 50,000 per month.

Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira has been arrested by the Punjab Police in an old drugs smuggling case on September 28.

Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, a case was registered against the Congress leader in drugs smuggling case. Following that the officials from the Jalalabad police station raided Khaira’s Sector 5 bungalow in Chandigarh today morning.

On his arrest, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Warring slammed the CM Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government and called it a ploy by the state government to distract people from the main issues.  

Warring further said that National Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge asked him on call in the morning to fight for the Khaira and asked other party leaders to do so.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter Warring said the recent arrest of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira smacks of Political Vendetta, it is an attempt to intimidate the opposition and is a ploy of the Punjab government to distract from core issues. We stand strongly with Sukhpal Khaira and will take this fight to its logical conclusion, he added.

Condemning Congress leader Khaira’s arrest, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also attacked the AAP-led Punjab government. The SAD took to social media platform X and said the arrest of the Congress leader was a political vendetta.

It further said that political differences aside, the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar condemns the arrest borne out of the witch hunt and political vendetta against a very respected Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, a fierce critic of Bhagwant Mann and AAP-led Punjab government, the SAD wrote in the social media post.

Khaira, a member of the legislative assembly from the Bholath constituency in Punjab was arrested today in an old drugs case. He also serves as the chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.  

In an unfortunate incident, a massive fire broke out at a chemical factory in Mohali on Wednesday. According to reports, the incident took place in Industrial Focal Point at Chanalon, situated in Mohali. Locals claimed that several explosions could be heard from inside the chemical factory.

According to reports, five workers have sustained burn injuries owing to the incident. Around two dozen fire tenders were hurried to the spot in an effort to douse the flames and take control of the situation. The reason for the fire could not be ascertained yet.

Reports state that a team of doctors and ambulance were also rushed to the spot to provide immediate aid to the injured. Visuals across the social media platforms showed black smoke clouds erupting from the accident spot.

Earlier in July, a major fire erupted at a chemical factory in Derabassi, claiming the lives of two people and leaving a dozen injured. Reports stated that the fire broke out following an explosion in one of the units of the factory. The explosion occurred at Punjab Chemicals and Crops Protection Limited. Following the blast, a major fire broke out and spread quickly in a unit with 30 workers. 

According to reports, the blast was so powerful that the window panes of several houses were broken and parts of some metals were scattered in an area around 500 metres. Nearly, 18 fire tenders from Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula were deployed to control the fire. It took three hours to douse the flames. 

In the incident, a series of explosions took place after the fire engulfed some tankers loaded with chemicals. The fire brigade was present at the factory till the evening. A factory worker narrated that the fire broke out at the third floor of the unit and quickly spread across other parts of the building.