by Punjabnewswire4u (Balbir)
AMRITSAR, AUGUST 15
Mr. Bikram Singh Majithia, Revenue and Information
and Public Relations Minister, Punjab today
urged the Union Government to initiate a special campaign for making aware the
people of various foreign countries about the separate identity of Sikhs
residing over there, to avoid such tragic incidents like Oak Creek Gurdwara in
future.
Unfurling the national flag here to mark
the 66th Independence Day at Guru Nanak Stadium, Mr. Majithia said that Union
Government should immediate initiate a campaign through diplomatic channels for
the separate identity of Sikhs residing in foreign countries. He said that it
is the need of the hour to start such diplomatic talks with the governments of
different countries having dense Sikh population to ensure the full safety and
security of Sikhs. He extended thanks to the United
States for their positive and sympathetic role in the Oak Creek incident.
Welcoming the decision of Punjab Government for
declaring the holy city of Amritsar
as ‘Smoke Free City’, Mr. Majithia said that this decision would prove a boon
for the initiatives already taken by the local administration to brush-aside
the menace of drugs from the city. Mr. Majithia also extended thanks to Chief
Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal
for this noble cause.
Mr. Majithia, expressing happiness over
the initiatives taken on large scale by SAD-BJP Government in Power Sector,
said that Punjab has initiated the process of setting up thermal plants at
Talwandi Sabo, Rajpura and Goindwal Sahib to make Punjab
a power surplus state besides establishing it a most favoured investment
destination of the country. All these Thermal Plant would be operational by the
end of 2014 and it would generate 3920 MW of power. He said that due to deficit
monsoon in the state, the Punjab Government has purchased a power of more than Rs.
7000 crore to ensure the proper cultivation of paddy already sown by its
peasantry.
The Minister also said that the Punjab
Government has constituted a ‘Metropolitan Planning Committee’ for the overall
development of Amritsar,
which would be headed by Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal and he
would personally monitor the status of development projects. He said that
‘Master Plan’ for the development of holy city from all spheres would be
implemented in coming two years. He said that Amritsar would be the next IT hub.
Mr. Majithia said that Amritsar
would soon witness a state-of-the-art trade fair center and the government has
identified 20 acres of land for this purpose, while the proposal to construct a
mini secretariat at Amritsar
has also been finalized. He said that Punjab Government is committed to
eliminate illegal trades of drugs and narcotics in the state by starting a
special drive against this menace. He said that during the last five years, the
Punjab Police has seized drugs and narcotics worth Rs. 1260 crore, which was
the 40% of total seizure in the country.
Congratulating the countrymen for
entering the 66th year of Independence,
Mr. Majithia exhorted Punjabis in general and youth in particular to tread on
the path shown by our martyr’s for building a strong nation and for elimination
of social menaces.
Mr. Majithia also honoured freedom
fighters and their families besides various personalities of government
departments and from society for their achievements in different sectors. He
also distributed tricycles and sewing machines to physically challenged people
and widows.
Meanwhile, Mr. Majithia announced a
grant of Rs. 3.5 lakh for the teams of students, who participated in cultural
and folk programs and also announced holiday for the participating schools on
August 16.
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