Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh government has decided to put a full stop on the usage of plastic bottles and plastic ceiling caps for supplying and sale of liquor from DEcember 1, this year . The decision is followed after the campaign against single-use plastics .

The instruction regarding it has been issued to all processing and bottling units, beverage corporation, marketing corporation and the excise officers in every district of the state,said sources . 

the state excise department has taken a cognizant decision to discontinue usage of plastic bottles after observing the environment pollution and health hazards because of plastic usuage.

SO the bottles and  ceiling caps for local liquor and for the foreign ones will be replaced . The order placed will come into effect from December 1 this year, said an official.

Earlier the state governmenthad planned to sell out liqor in plastic bottles , this decision invited a lot of criticism from oppposition parties country wide.

When there is a national level campaign is in action against the single-use plastics, the state’s contradictory approach also displeased social activists and health experts. 

Liquor ban was one of the important promises made in the manifesto of Congress, during the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections –2018.

Environmental agencies and activists had earlier questioned as to how approval was given to sell liquor in plastic sachets without any scientific research on the possible impact of plastic.

Officials had then claimed to have faced an acute shortage of glass and began using plastic bottles for the liquor sale. 

Kondagaon : Three people were charred to death when a shop in which firecrackers were stored caught fire in makdi village of Kondagaon district ,said police on Tuesday .

According to Kondagaon police, a local grocery shop owner Kashi Sen used to sell firecrackers for which he was granted licence, on the occasion of Diwali. He along with two of his friends, identified as Balram Netam and Shivlal Shrimali, slept inside the shop on Sunday night after it was closed. The accident took place in grocer Kashi Sen’s shop late on Sunday night.

Police said that Sen ran a grocery shop at Bazaar Chowk in the village and also sold firecrackers from there during Diwali festival as he had a license.

Sen sold firecrackers to the villagers on Sunday on Diwali and his two friends – Balram Netam and Shivlal Shrimali – pitched in to help him in managing the crowd at the shop.

The three remained inside the shop after pulling the shutters and the firecrackers stored there caught fire at around 11.30pm, police said.

An official said police rushed to the spot and that the flames were doused with the help of locals.

The flames, however, gutted the entire shop and the three men died on the spot.

A team of experts from a forensic science laboratory visited the site on Monday morning to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.

Raipur: Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel hasw urged for the involvement of state BJP Members of Parliament and senior party leaders to instigate the central government to procure 32 lakh metric tonnes of rice through Food Corporation of India (FCI)., Chief Minister claimed that Governor Anusuiya Uikey already wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

Citing precedence, Baghel said surplus rice has been transferred to central pool through FCI. This led to more procurement from farmers, even from remote areas under minimum support price. The target in current Kharif (2019-20) is 85 L MT paddy.

Custom milling will generate 57.37 L MT of which 25.40 L MT will be used in PDS which includes 15.48 L MT from central pool and 9.92 L MT from state pool. The surplus 32 L MT has to be transferred, he added.

“We all can together meet Prime Minister if he gives time to meet, in larger interest of farmers of the state,” emphasized Baghel. The paddy procurement in the state will commence from November 15, he added.

On Naxalism, Baghel said his party’s victory in by-poll showed that people’s trust has been won. The government is committed for winning trust, development and security in Bastar region. New schools will come up while fight against malnutrition and anemia will continue. With changes made in DMF, things will also improve in future, he added.

CPCC president Mohan Markam said Congress after 39 years had won all the 12 seats in Bastar. He said the party will continue to work to implement schemes for needy.

Raipur: Chhattisgarh State Assembly's winter session this year will commence on November 25 and will continue till December 6. As per the notification issued by Chhattisgarh State Assembly principal secretary Chandra Shekhar Gangrade, the fourth session of the fifth state assembly will have 10 sittings.

The winter session will witness a different scenario altogether. The ruling Congress has increased its tally from 68 to 69 by winning the Dantewada seat which was held by the BJP.

After BJP’s sitting MLA Bhima Mandavi was killed in an IED blast triggered by Maoists, during Lok Sabha polls, Congress candidate Devati Karma, who was defeated in State assembly election 2018, won the bypoll. Similarly, Congress retained its Chitrakot seat which fell vacant after sitting MLA Deepak Baij was elected as Bastar Member of Parliament. Rajman Venjam, Congress candidate had won and took oath as member.

The assembly session is also being held just before the state civic body and panchayat elections scheduled in December-January 2020.

State government has already made necessary changes in the law to hold indirect election for post of Mayor and Chairman. The polling will be held through ballot paper.

The BJP has been continuously opposing the move. With the ordinance issued, it is hoped that assembly will pass the amendment by voice vote as the ruling Congress enjoy clear majority in the assembly