Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
CHANDIGARH, September 1: Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh today warned against taking away the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) land in Bathinda for setting up of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) there.
The former Chief Minister said while he fully supported the setting up of AIIMS in Bathinda as it was the pressing need in the area at the same time he asked the government to make alternate land arrangement for the AIIMS. “You can’t take away the land specifically meant for agriculture research”, he clarified, while adding, “government can always arrange alternate land somewhere else in the same area instead of adopting an easy way out”.
“It is a classic example of robbing Peter to pay Paul and we will not let anybody to rob PAU of its precious land meant for research”, he said, while adding, “if the state wants an AIIMS to be set up in Bathinda it must arrange for the land also”.
Reacting to the state government proposal to take away 175 acres of land from PAU regional research centre at Bathinda for AIIMS, the former Chief Minister expressed shock over the wisdom of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal wondering as how could anyone in his right senses take away the ‘research land’ from a research institution like the PAU.
He said, earlier the Badals took away 30 acres for a cricket stadium there. He said, if 175 acres is taken away now, there will be no land left with the PAU regional research centre for research there.
He pointed out similarly the Jalandhar Regional Research centre land (meant for sugarcane research) was handed over to Surjit Rakhra for the PIMS which is now virtually defunct.
Capt Amarinder said, PAU had set up various regional research centres according to the climatic zones. He said, the Bathinda centre was mainly meant for conducting research in cotton and citrus fruits.
He observed that over the years the importance of regional research centres has increased but the Akalis, the Badals in particular, instead were hell bent to wound these up.
The former Chief Minister said, given the challenges being faced in traditional farming, research has become all the more important. “But here is a government which is systematically winding up the research centres thus defeating the very purpose for which the PAU was set up”, he regretted, while adding, “this is yet another example of this government’s criminal ignorance and callous apathy towards agriculture”.
