CHANDIGARH: In an unprecedented development, the Punjab unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has extended its full support to the ruling Congress party on the contagious and long pending Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) issue, as well as other matters of vital interest to the State.
A delegation of the BJP state unit, led by Union minister for social justice and BJP state president, Vijay Sampla, state vice-president Harjit Grewal and state secretary Vineet Joshi met Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh here on Thursday morning to discuss a wide range of issues.
Meanwhile on the other hand, the Chief Minister of Haryana and senior BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar recently met Prime Minister Narinder Modi and urged him to ensure early construction of SYL canal.
He said the latter lent him a patient hearing on all aspects related to the SYL Canal. “We have complete faith that this time too, the verdict would be delivered in favour of Haryana. We have urged the Central government to assist in early construction of the canal,” he added.
The issue of SYL canal has been pending since 1976.
Amarinder thanked the BJP leaders for their support, saying it was important for political parties of all hues to come together in order to bring the State’s growth and development back on track.
The BJP leaders raised several issues, including setting up of a Cancer Hospital in Hoshiarpur, for which land had already been allocated and the Central government had released the necessary funds.
Acknowledging the importance of the project, Amarinder immediately directed the Health Department to expedite work on the hospital.
The BJP delegation suggested introduction of telemedicine services in Talwara (Hoshiarpur) government hospital to overcome the shortfall of doctors in the region. Captain Amarinder welcomed the suggestion and instructed the concerned officials to look into the feasibility of starting such services.
Responding to the BJP’s plea in this regard, Amarinder also directed the concerned department to expedite the civil works at Adampur Airport to make it functional at the earliest.
He promised to look into the BJP leaders’ suggestion to set up an auto industry in Hoshiarpur, reiterating his commitment to promote the much-needed industrial development across the State. The new industrial policy, which his government was in the process of formulating, will address key concerns of the industries to revive industrial development in the State, he told the delegation.
Another issue raised by the BJP delegation related to disbursement of Central government funded post-matric scholarship. The Chief Minister instructed the concerned officials to ensure that the funds allocated for the purpose reach the intended beneficiaries at the earliest.