Chandigarh,September 6
PunjabChief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said the demand for declaringBatala as a district was already under consideration and a final decision wouldbe taken after due consideration of various issues involved.
He hadreceived a similar representation from another Congress leader last month andwas looking into the matter, said the Chief Minister, in response to the demandraised by his cabinet colleagues Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa and SukhjinderSingh Randhawa. Further, there have been some reports in the media over thepast few days indicating that citizens of Batala have also publicly raised thedemand for a new district to be carved out of their region, he pointed out.
TheChief Minister expressed surprise that neither Tript nor Sukhjinder had seenthe reports in the public domain nor deemed it fit to discuss the issue withhim before shooting off a joint letter in this manner. “Had they come to me andspoken about it, I would have told them that I am already looking into thematter, and would have even consulted them in this regard,” quipped CaptainAmarinder, taking a dig at the two ministers.
Capt.Amarinder Singh said that S. Pratap Bajwa, MP had already demanded a districtstatus for Batala, in his letter dated11th August 2021 and had cited Batala’s historic importance and its connectionwith Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, who had married Mata Sulakhni here in 1487. The Chief Minister said he was cognisant ofBatala’s significance to Punjab’s history and culture, as well as the publicsentiment. He would discuss the issue with various stakeholders before taking adecision, he added.
Hisgovernment, said Captain Amarinder, had identified as many as 103 places in 79villages & 24 Towns, blessed with Guru Sahib’s visit (Charan Chhoh) duringhis lifetime. Funds had been allocated and efforts were being made to ensuredevelopment of each of them in different ways, he said, adding that a lot ofthinking and consultation had gone into the process.
TheChief Minister further said that steps were continuously being taken to exploreways to ensure the infrastructural development and progress of all the historictowns and places in the state, especially those which are in any way linked toany of the Gurus. He would do everything in his power to ensure that Batalaalso gets its due, he added.