Punjab Minister for Mines & Geology, Soil & Water Conservation, and Water Resources, Advocate Barinder Kumar Goyal, unfurled the National Flag at Shaheed Major Harminderpal Singh (Shaurya Chakra) Government College in SAS Nagar, Mohali. He also took the salute from the march past and enjoyed the cultural performances presented by the students.
Saluting the Freedom Fighters of Nation and Architects of the Constitution, Goyal emphasized that the Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab is committed to transforming the state in accordance with the true spirit of the Constitution. He noted that the dreams of freedom fighters and the architects of the Constitution are being realized in Punjab through good governance.
He said that Punjab is the first state to have portraits of Shaheed-e-Azam S. Bhagat Singh and Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar in Government Offices instead of political leaders. He said that the Bhagwant Mann Government was also instrumental in resolving the issue of naming of International Airport Mohali in the name of Shaheed Bhagat Singh besides installing a 30 feet tall statue of Sardar Bhagat outside Airport.
He said that the Punjab Government is focusing on quality education and health services in the state by setting up Schools of Eminence and Aam Aadmi Clinics. Bhagwant Mann Government has given 50,000 jobs in Government sector since it came to existence in Punjab and the only criteria for the jobs is merit.
He said that Bhagwant Mann Government has been digging a 150 KM Canal at Rs 2300 Crores for irrigation of two lakh acres of land in Bathinda, Faridkot, Fazilka, Ferozepur and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts besides work on three canals in Pathankot underway to supply first time water for irrigation in this area.Besides, projects worth Rs 2100 Crores have already been in the offing of repairs, re-lining of water sources.
Minister Goyal said that the state has successfully introduced Punjab Miner Minerals Policy 2023 by auctioning 74 public sites. Another 100 sites will soon be put on auction to get more revenue.Interacting with the media, the Minister said that the southern parts of Punjab have the potential of having potash stock that will further add to the revenue of the state when extracted from the soil.
He said that Mohali soon has a sports infrastructure upgrade with the installation of 8 lane 400 mtr synthetic track at Multipurpose Stadium of Sector 78 at a cost of Rs 9.19 Crore, replacement of global standard astroturf at Senior Balbir Singh International Hockey Stadium, Sector 63 at Rs 3.13 Crore besides laying of PU flooring of Sector 63 and 78 stadiums' sports indoor halls.
He also announced to upgrade the ESI dispensary of Kharar and Derabassi to 30 and 100 beds' hospitals respectively in the coming days by the state. Earlier, he inspected the R-day Parade with DC Aashika Jain and SSP Deepak Pareek, led by Parade Commander Preet Kanwar Singh DSP of the 2022 batch.
Five veer Naris (widows of army martyrs) were also felicitated to commemorate the services rendered by the soldiers to protect the borders of the country.About 1500 students were the part of the Republic Celebrations scheduled at Govt College Mohali and they regaled the audience with their patriotic presentations.
He also gave 12 sewing machines on behalf of District Red Cross Society to the needy women.About 48 persons having distinction in various fields and exceptional service records were also felicitated by the Chief Guest.To make people aware of the importance of Yoga in daily life, the trainers working in the district under CM di Yogshala presented a Yoga Show in an impressive way.
MLA Kulwant Singh, Chairperson DPC, Prabhjot Kaur, Chairman, Milkfed Narinder Singh Shergill, Member, Punjab State Traders Commission, Vineet Verma, Vice Chairman, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Subhash Sharma and AAP Spokesperson, Harsukhinder Singh Babbi Badal were among the prominent persons present during the function. Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla also joined the Republic Day Celebrations.