CM visits gastro infected area of Batala

Ex-gratia grant announced

Batala, October 16, 2012: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that keeping in view the grave situation of gastroenteritis in Batala city, the state government would soon organize a Mega Health camp in the city in the coming December to diagnose the patients with serious ailments in general and that of gastro in particular.

Talking to the media persons after taking stock of the situation in gastro infected locality of Gandhi camp here today, the Chief Minister categorically said that as a part of the state government’s commitment to deliver world class health facilities to the people this mega camp would be organized in Batala on the lines of ‘Sangat Darshan’ program, which would facilitate the people to avail quality Health care facilities under one roof, that too without spending any money. 

Expressing profound grief and sorrow over the death of 21 persons due to the gastro in the city, Badal said that it was unfortunate that this disease had made inroads in the area due to the contamination of sludge sewage with the drinking water due to the dilapidated condition of supply pipes.

Announcing an ex-gratia grant of Rs 1 lac for next of the kin of each of 21 deceased, Badal said that the state government was duty bound to help these people in this hour of crisis. He further said that the Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC) was already carrying out relief operations on war-footage in the city adding that free medicines worth Rs 3 lac are being supplied to the area residents for preventing any further mishap.

Visibly peeved over the inhuman conditions in which the residents of Gandhi camp locality were residing, the Chief Minister asked the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Gurdaspur and the political leaders present on the occasion to draft a suitable rehabilitation policy of these people with their express consent.

When asked to comment on the apprehensions of the state Congress leadership over the revival of terrorism in the state, the Chief Minister while ruling out any such possibility said that the SAD-BJP government was committed for promoting peace, brotherhood, communal harmony and amity at very cost.

Badal pointed out that the Congress leaders were making a false hue and cry over the issue because of their chronic habit of raising the bogey of terrorism when out of power.  He said that the state government was fully vigil to curb the nefarious designs of anti-Punjab forces, who want to derail the developmental process in the state. 

Lashing out at the Congress party, the Chief Minister said that the Union Government was discriminating with the states ruled by the non-Congress parties by not issuing the requisite developmental grants to them. He said that it was a paradoxical situation in which the Congress ruled states were getting more money whereas those ruled by the non-Congress government were virtually getting nothing.

Badal said that to further aggrieve the situation the Union Ministers of the UPA government were also acting autocratically by diverting the projects and funds of their respective departments towards their native states due to which lopsided development was taking place in the country.

The Chief Minister further said that Punjab was the worst sufferer of such discriminatory policies of the Union government as the state was hardly getting any grant from the Centre. However he said that if at all the Union government issues any grant to the state then such riders are imposed on it which makes its utilisation impossible.

Badal said that it was a known fact that the successive Congress led governments at the Centre had always meted out step motherly treatment with the Punjab due to which the economy of the state has suffered a major setback thereby resulting in its retarded development.

Reiterating that the state government was making all out efforts to develop every nook and corner of the state, the Chief Minister said that no discrimination was being done with any part of the state while allocating the funds for development. He said that developmental grants were being given to every assembly constituency so as to provide basic civic amenities to the people besides ensuring the over all development of the area.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by former Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, former Cabinet Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan and former MLA Mr Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal.