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Punjab farmers end protest on Chandigarh borders; consensus on demands

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The stalemate between protesting farmers and the Punjab government led by Bhagwant Mann ended on Wednesday with a consensus on most of their demands, comprising beginning paddy sowing from June 10.

They later called off their protest that began a day earlier on borders of the state capital Chandigarh, similar on the lines of the year-long protest against the Centre’s farm laws at the Delhi borders that ended with the revoking of the three Central farm laws.

The meeting between the Chief Minister and leaders of 23 farmers’ unions under the banner of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha that lasted for over two and half hours here.

After the meeting, Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal reached the protest venue in Mohali, near here, where thousands of farmers had been staging a sit-in protest since Tuesday.

He said the meeting of the farmers with the Chief Minister was fruitful and the farmers accepted to end the protest. There was a consensus on 12 out of 13 demands of farmers.

The prominent demands include minimum support price (MSP) for the purchase of maize, basmati and moong (pulses) that the government has assured, ending staggered paddy cultivation from June 18, electricity prepaid meters not to be installed, besides a compensation of Rs 500 per quintal for those who suffered losses due to early onset of early summer.

The farmers on Wednesday threatened to break the barricades set up on borders to march to the Chief Minister’s residence in Chandigarh if their demands were not met.

After the meeting, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal told the media that the Chief Minister has accepted their demand to divide the state into two zones for sowing of paddy instead of four.

“Now half of the state would be able to sow paddy from June 14, while the rest from June 17. We have been asked to divide the districts into two zones. Earlier, the government had ordered that the sowing would start from June 18 in a staggered manner in the four zones,” he said.

The government assured the farmers that they would get MSP on moong (lentils) and a notification in this regard has already been issued.

At the meeting, the Chief Minister asked the farmers to immediately go for paddy nursery so that paddy transplantation could be ensured within the stipulated time schedule.

He apprised the farm leaders the government has already issued a notification to procure the entire crop of ‘moong’ on MSP of Rs 7,275 per quintal.

He also assured them that the government is already in the mode of finalizing modalities to procure maize too on MSP to give boost to its ambitious programe of crop diversification.

On the issue of MSP for basmati, the Chief Minister said he would call on Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday to impress upon the government of India to immediately announce MSP on basmati so as to encourage the farmers to go for its cultivation in a big way by shifting from water guzzling paddy.

He also told the farmers that he would also take up the contentious issue of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) with Shah for expeditious resolution to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

Mann urged the union leaders to give him some time for at least one year to bring farmer-friendly reforms in the agriculture sector.

At the same time, he urged them to shun the path of agitation and if they had any grouse against the government they should sit across the table to finally find an amicable solution.

Responding to another issue raised by the farm unions, Mann said the government would soon come out with a comprehensive policy for bestowing ownership rights on the cultivators who had been in possession of panchayat land and cultivating the same since long to convert the barren land into cultivable.

In a related development, the Cabinet led by the Chief Minister approved Rs 1,500 per acre incentive to the farmers for sowing of paddy through the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) technology.

A sum of Rs 450 crore has been earmarked to provide incentive to the farmers for promotion of less water consuming and cost effective DSR technology.

This step would be instrumental to save nearly about 15-20 per cent water as compared to the conventional puddling method during the lifecycle of crops.

The alarming situation arisen out of fast depleting groundwater mainly due to water guzzling traditional method of paddy transplantation needs bold measures to check this serious trend instantly.

At present, the water table is falling at rate of 86 cm per year, leading to a precarious situation, where no underground water will be available across the state in coming 15-20 years.

According to a spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s Office, this technique will encourage majority of farmers to adopt as it needs far less water for irrigation, improves percolation, reduces dependence on farm labour and improves soil health and help enhancing yield of both paddy and wheat by 5-10 per cent.

The tempers of the protesting farmers had ran high a day earlier as the Chief Minister failed to meet the leaders over their demands and left for Delhi.

Late in the evening, Mann said the agitation was “unwarranted and undesirable” and asked the farm unions to join hands with the government for checking the depleting water table.

Maharashtra

Mumbai embraces everyone, keeping Mumbai clean and beautiful is everyone’s responsibility: Actor Akshay Kumar

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Mumbai: is a city that embraces crores of citizens. Therefore, the responsibility of keeping this city clean and beautiful lies with every resident and every citizen here. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation administration is making continuous efforts for cleanliness. However, the efforts of the administration alone are not enough. Citizens need to take the initiative themselves. Because, public cleanliness is a social duty, actor Padma Shri Akshay Kumar has made this appeal. To keep the area of ​​Mumbai (Mumbai city and suburbs) clean and beautiful, the Solid Waste Management Department of Mumbai Municipal Corporation has organized the ‘Mumbai Clean League’ competition. Registration for this competition began today (March 17, 2026) at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in the presence of actor Padma Shri Shri.

MLA Amit Sattam, Deputy Mayor Sanjay Gadi, Leader of the House Ganesh Khankar, Chairman of the Standing Committee Prabhakar Shinde, Chairperson of the Education Committee Rajeshree Shravadkar, Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Deputy Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) Kiran Dighavkar etc. were present on the occasion. Akshay Kumar further said that the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is constantly trying to keep Mumbai clean. As citizens, we should be more positive about this and take an active part in it. To increase public participation in public cleanliness and highlight its importance, a ‘Mumbai Clean League’ competition has been organized. Celebrities from the fields of film, sports etc. will participate in it along with various institutions. He also said that this will create a competitive environment and help maintain cleanliness. Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said on the occasion that various steps are being taken and various activities are being implemented in Mumbai by the Solid Waste Management Department of the Municipal Corporation in relation to public cleanliness. In this context, the ‘Mumbai Clean League’ competition has been organized to ensure cleanliness in Mumbai and increase the participation of citizens. These competitions will be held in various categories including Clean Administrative Division (Corporate Servant Group), Clean Administrative Division (Ward), Clean Residential Complex, Clean Slum Area, Clean Commercial Establishment, Clean Hospital (Government and Private), Clean Restaurant (Restaurant, CC Road), Clean Restaurant. Clean Parks and Open Spaces, Clean Market and Adoption of the Surrounding Area for Cleaning.

Meanwhile, the registration process for this competition has started from today (March 17, 2026). Citizens or institutions can register for the competition by visiting the link https://sba.mcgm.gov.in/bmc/ or by scanning the QR code circulated through social media, media, Public Awareness Board. Gagrani also said that to ensure fair and transparent competition, the evaluation of each registered establishment can be viewed on the website in real time.

In the Clean Administrative Division (Municipal Servant Group) category, a prize fund of Rs. 1 crore, Rs. 75 lakh for the first position and Rs. 50 lakh for the third position and in the Clean Administrative Division (Ward) category, a prize fund of Rs. 50 lakh, Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 15 lakh will be given. In the Clean Residential Complex category, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakh, Rs. 20 lakh, Rs. 30 lakh will be given. In the Clean Slum Area category, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Commercial Establishment, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Hospital (Government and Private), a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean School (Government and Private), a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Canteen, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Community Toilet, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Road/Pathway, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, Rs 30 lakh will be given. The first prize in the Clean Park and Open Space category is Rs 15 lakh, the second prize is Rs 10 lakh, the third prize is Rs 5 lakh. The first prize in the Clean Market Area category is Rs 15 lakh, the second prize is Rs 10 lakh, the third prize is Rs 5 lakh. While the first prize for the special category of adopting the surrounding area for cleanliness is Rs 15 lakh, the second prize is Rs 10 lakh, the third prize is Rs 5 lakh. The entire competition will be evaluated by a third-party organization.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Action will be taken against illegal hawkers and hotels in Kurla, BMC warns of registering FIRs against hawkers, police ready for effective action

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Mumbai: Once again, the Hindu Sangha protested in Kurla area demanding strict action against illegal hawkers, after which the BMC will now register a case against such hawkers who have been repeatedly found occupying the road and footpath or have interfered in the action. To make the action against hawkers more effective, the police and BMCL L ward should take joint action. The residents of Kurla are facing a lot of problems due to hawkers, after which an important meeting was held in L ward in which DMC Sarshagar made it clear that action will be taken against illegal encroachments along with clearing Kurla of hawkers.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Dhanaji Herlekar said that in order to make further progress in the operation that was going on in the limits of L Ward Kurla in January, an FIR will now be registered for effective action. On the complaint of BMC, the police will now register a case in this matter. In this meeting, Kurla Senior Police Inspector Rukas Mehmkar has assured all possible cooperation in the operation. Earlier, the Sakal Hindu Samaj also tried to give a communal and religious color to the hawkers and hawkers. Along with this, action has also been demanded against the illegal Iftar party in the market and the unauthorized Iftar party on the road. Not only this, there is also a demand to remove the temporary prayer shed in the market, on which BMC officers have assured necessary action.

The BMC has now taken action against the illegal encroachment on footpaths in Kurla, and Assistant Municipal Commissioner Dhanaji Herlekar has made it clear that action will also be taken against the hotels that have encroached on roads and footpaths. This action will be taken in collaboration with the traffic police and police personnel. After the assurance of the BMC, the Circle Hindu Samaj ended its protest. BJP leader Rupesh Pawar has said that hotels have occupied the footpath from Kurla Sahara Hotel to LBS Marg. There is a traffic problem here. There are five hospitals at the same location. If a patient is in a critical condition, it is difficult to reach the hospital. Many patients have also died in this. Therefore, action is also necessary against those hotels that do business on the footpath. This is why the citizens of Kurla are worried about the footpath and if the BMC relaxes the action on this, the protest will intensify further. Hindskal has warned the BMC that if action is not taken against illegal businesses and hawkers, the protest will intensify further.

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Maharashtra

Gas crisis in Maharashtra! But people need not worry, Chhagan Bhujbal claims in the House… Supply of kerosene is also possible

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Mumbai: The black market and shortage of fuel and gas cylinders have now become common in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The people are worried about the critical condition of fuel due to the Iran-Israel-America war. In the Legislative Assembly, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Chhagan Bhujbal made it clear that there is no need to worry about the gas crisis and shortage because the Central Government has claimed that it has gas and fuel stocks available with it, so no one needs to stand in queues or buy fuel or gas from black marketing. The government is strict on the black market of gas and action is also underway. The state is currently facing fuel shortage, there is a shortage of cylinders. Speaking in this context, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal gave important information in the legislature. Gas supply is a central issue, and the Center has said that they have sufficient stocks of LPG and PNG. Therefore, there is no reason to worry. Therefore, there is no reason to be worried, do not stand in queues anywhere and do not black market gas. Committees of each district collector, SP and other officers have been appointed. 2129 checks have been done so far. 1208 gas cylinders have been seized through these operations so far. Goods worth Rs 33,66,411 have been seized so far. A total of 23 cases have been registered in this matter and 18 people have been arrested. Bhujbal said that last month the price of a gas cylinder was Rs 852.50. Now it has increased to Rs 912.50. Commercial cylinders have increased from Rs 1720.50 to Rs 1835. This morning I spoke to representatives of major gas distribution companies, DPCL, HPCL, IOCL, some of which are big companies. They said that the daily production of LPG has been increased from 9,000 metric tons to 11,000 metric tons. If there is any problem, work is also underway to remove them. Companies have orders from the central government, and some institutions have been given priority for gas supply, in which hospitals have been given 100 percent priority.

Educational institutions and public services have also been given 100 percent priority. Bhujbal has said that 70 percent priority has been given to gift shops related to railways, aviation and defense sectors, and if gas remains, 50 percent gas will be provided to the pharmaceutical industry and 50 percent to seed processing. Meanwhile, the state is currently facing gas shortage, and the government has now decided on a way to resolve it. As an alternative to gas cylinders and fuel, Bhujbal said that one way is kerosene. We have kerosene reserves available. A few years ago, the Nagpur High Court had said that if you have the Ujjala Gas Scheme, you will not need kerosene. Therefore, despite having kerosene, we were not providing it. But now we have told the High Court that the current situation is difficult, so it is necessary to provide kerosene for public consumption. This kerosene will now be provided to kerosene dealers for distribution. We will also provide kerosene at the pumps of IOCL, BPCL, HPCL companies.

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