Bathinda, March 7 Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Saturday that his party would take Bathinda to the next level of progress by transforming the city into an industrial hub once it comes to power in Punjab after the 2027 state elections.
Addressing a gathering at Goniana Mandi in Bathinda, Badal said the Akali Dal has established thermal plants in the district, an airport, besides making it an education and medical hub by establishing a central university, AIIMS, and the Advanced Cancer Institute.
"Once the Akali government comes to power in 2027, it will establish an industrial hub in Bathinda that will boost the economy of the region and provide employment to the youth," Badal said.
He also promised to establish a skill university on 300 acres of land in the district, which will train one lakh youth every year.
"Specialized training will be provided by renowned companies so that the trainees can be absorbed in the same," Badal said.
He also claimed that after four years in power, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is again trying to "deceive" the people by announcing to set up a medical college in New Chandigarh.
"He (Mann) doesn't seem to know that it was former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal who established the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in New Chandigarh.
"If one looks at Bhagwant Mann's record, the promised medical college in Sangrur has not progressed beyond a foundation stone. The AAP government has failed to establish any medical college in any district of the state as promised," Badal claimed.
Outlining his vision for Punjab, Badal said the Akali Dal is committed to cleaning up all the rivers in the state.
"We will not allow a single drop of polluted effluent to be discharged into the Beas and Sutlej. This is necessary to check cancer in the Malwa belt," he said.
Badal also announced that all farmers who do not have a tubewell connection will be provided with one once the SAD forms the government in Punjab.
"We will also install underground pipes for efficient irrigation, besides stopping water flow into the Rajasthan canal and diverting the same to the fields of our farmers," Badal said.
