Ludhiana, July 28 : Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Sh. Manish Tewari has condemned political discrimination in development works by the Punjab Government. Addressing a large gathering in Prem Nagar of Ward No. 74 in Ludhiana today, he said that Punjab Government is under debt of over Rs. one lac crore and it has no funds for development works or the welfare schemes for the poor. Sh. Tewari said, if no Central grant is given to Punjab, the State will have to face financial bankruptcy as it is currently unable even to pay salaries to its employees.
Sh. Tewari said that it was unfortunate that no development has taken place in Ludhiana or elsewhere in the State in last over six years. He said that Ludhiana South constituency is the most neglected with regard to civic amenities. Sh. Tewari laid the foundation stone for a tubewell to be built at cost of Rs. 15.50 lac. Sh. Tewari had also distributed funds worth Rs. 1.24 crore in various wards of Ludhiana such as ward no. 22, 23 etc yesterday. He said that with the provision of safe drinking water, the residents of these neglected colonies would not fall prey to water borne diseases like Diahorrea, Jaundice etc. The Union Minister said that after RTI, RTE and MGNREGA, the Union Government is launching a Food Security programme which will benefit 81 crore countrymen with an annual allocation of Rs. 125 lac crore by the Union Government.
Sh. Tewari attended a function organized by Avon Cycles and released a book titled the Balance of Two Wheels, written by Abhijit Ahuja on the biography of Sh. Sohan Lal Pahwa, who was the founding father of Avon Bicycles unit in Ludhiana in 1952. Paying rich tributes to the vision of Sh. Sohan Lal Pahwa, Sh. Manish Tewari said that while Sh. Pahwa created a model and modern cycle manufacturing unit in Ludhiana, but by the virtue of his success and inspiration his industry become a beacon of motivation for other entrepreneurs. On this occasion, Sh. Onkar Singh Pahwa and his family presented a religious book to Sh. Tewari.
Sh. Tewari also inaugurated the commencement of the works for construction of concrete roads in the industrial area, which will cost over Rs. 44 lac and would immensely benefit the citizens. Earlier in the day, Sh. Tewari visited the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital and enquired about the health of Balkar Singh councilor and wished him speedy recovery. Sh. Tewari also visited the residence of Sh. Gurbakhshish Singh Ghayal to condole the untimely demise of his son Raja Rajvir Singh Ghayal, who had passed away last week. Sh. Tewari also expressed his condolences to his uncle Sh. Pritpal Singh Ghayal.
Those who attended included Leader of Opposition in Municipal Corporation Hemraj Aggarwal, MLA Surinder Dawar, District Congress Committee (U) President Pawan Dewan, Ashok Prashar Pappi, Gurmel Singh Pehlwan, Rakesh Sharma, Jarnail Shimlapuri, Rohit Pahwa, Gurmukh Singh Mithu, Davinder Bitta, Manpreet Grewal, Manjeet Kaur Grewal councilor, Himanshu Walia President Youth Congress Ludhiana North, Ashwani Shamra councilor, Mohit Rampal, Navneesh Malhotra, Baljinder Bunty & others.