Develop martyrs’ place at Hussainiwala Border as tourist hub: Punjab Governor asks Tourism Minister

Ferozepur, August 14, 2012 :  The Punjab Governor, Shivraj V. Patil after paying floral tributes on the Samadhis of martyrs Sardar Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Punjab Mata Vidyawati at Hussainiwala Border today asked Punjab Tourism Minister, Sarwan Singh Phillaur to develop it as a tourist spot.

Announcing Rs. 20 lakh for developing it as tourist hub from his discretionary fund, Patil asked the Punjab Tourism Minister to prepare a detailed project report at the earliest. He said funds would be arranged from Member of Parliament quota and from the state government also.

Speaking on the occasion, Patil said culture was their living tradition and it needed to be preserved, propagated and enriched. “India occupies an important place on the cultural map of the world and we can be justly proud of our rich and varied culture which is as deep as see and as high as sky”, he said.

Addressing large gathering in “Sanskritik Yatras” – Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Zonal Cultural Centres organised by North Zonal Cultural Centre, Patiala in collaboration with Border Security Force, here today, Patil said, they were one of the oldest and continuous civilisation of the world and they had inherited a value able range of art, literature, monuments, customs and traditions and enrich their lives. Therefore, they must honour the culture legacy left to them by their forefathers and contribute committed to preserve it for generations to come.

The Governor said that the performing arts were rooted in their cultural heritage and they brought theold with the new and bind the country together. He opined that their special efforts should be to reach out the new generations and to inculcate rich cultural values in their day to day life of their youth.

Exhorting the zonal cultural centres to work extensively to reach a large number of people as far as possible, Patil said, “We have to spread rich cultural values of all states as this is one of the best ways for the preservation of our culture.” Terming cultural exchange programmes as an effective means for promoting mutual understanding,

Governor Punjab said that showcasing a well organised cultural programme could be far more effective than chalking out numerous political and economic programmes for mutual cooperation amongst different states of the country.  He said that some of their traditional folk arts were fast disappearing for want of patronage so they must look out for the ‘Patrons of Arts’ and encourage them to support the classical and the traditional arts.

Prominent amongst others who were present on the occasion included,  Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Minister of Jails, Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Archives and Museum and Printing and Stationery Cultural,  Hari  Singh Zira, MLA.,  Parminder Singh, MLA, Ferozepur City, Senior officers of BSF , Jawans and people of nearby villages.

Dr. S Karuna Raju, Deputy Commissioner Ferozepur and SSP, Ferozepur were also present on the occasion.