By Punjabnewswire4u
CHANDIGARH, SEPT 24
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today
assured the Punjabi farmers settled in Gujarat that he would soon take up the
issue with the Ministry of Railways, Government of India (GoI) for extending
the existing Jammu Tawi- Ahmedabad Express Train to Kutch in Gujarat to enable
them to frequently visit Punjab, in a hassle free manner.
Interacting with a high powered 50 member delegation from Kutch region of
Gujarat led by its President Mr. Jugraj Singh that specially called on Mr.
Badal for expressing their gratitude for recently taking up their case of
displacement vigorously with his Gujarat counterpart Mr. Narendra Modi, the
Chief Minister reiterated that the state government was duty bound to safeguard
their interests. He further assured the delegation that SAD-BJP government
would be ever ready to take up any issue related to the welfare of Punjabi
farmers settled in Gujarat at the highest forum in view of their enormous
contribution in the overall development of Gujarat thereby converting the
barren land into lush green fields through their sweat and toil.
Responding to another issue raised by the delegation related
to the waiving off the condition of freezing the land records, the Chief
Minister said that he had already taken up this matter with Mr. Modi, who in
turn has assured him that this would also be amicably resolved to the
satisfaction of Punjabi farmers. It may be recalled that out of 784 farmers
whose land records have been freezed due to pending appeal in the Apex Court,
153 belong to Punjab. Mr. Badal aptly realized their genuine hardships in wake
of the freeze of land records which was a major impediment in way of seeking
co-operative loans, water connections besides bank loans for other purposes.
The delegation also invited the Chief Minister to visit the
holy Sikh shrine Gurdwara Sri Nanak Durbar at Kot Lakhpat in Kutch district,
the historical place associated with Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji who stayed here
while going and coming back from Mecca (Saudi Arabia) during his Udaasi. The
delegation apprised Mr. Badal that a religious congregation was held here on
December 25th every year and requested him to participate in it,
which was celebrated by the local Sikhs besides several devotees from various
part of the country and abroad. The delegation informed that the holy
shrine has also been duly recognized by the UNESCO and thus demanded that
keeping in view its historical importance efforts should be intensified to
acquaint the people about its centuries old heritage and religious sanctity.
Replying to this issue, the Chief Minister told the delegation that he would
soon take up this matter with the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee
(SGPC) to initiate requisite steps in this regard.
The Chief Minister also assured the delegation that he would
soon urge the SGPC to open a school there in Kutch region to enable the
children of Punjabi farmers to learn Punjabi- their mother tongue. The
delegation highly appreciated Mr. Badal's gesture and promised to donate a
suitable site for the school at a central place so that it could cater to the
needs of Punjabi families living nearby.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by his Principal
Secretary Mr. SK Sandhu and Special Principal Secretary Mr. Gaggandip Singh
Brar.
The prominent members of delegation included Mr. Jugraj
Singh, Mr. Udham Singh, Mr. Ranjit Singh, Mr. Kewal Singh and Mr. Dharam
Singh.
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