Welfare package for farmers, labourers soon, says Sukhbir

Jalandhar, Punjab: Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the state government would soon announce a comprehensive package for the welfare of farmers and labourers, including those in the farm sector.

Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a religious congregation organised to mark the 107th birth anniversary of Sant Tirlok Singh here, Sukhbir said details of the package were being worked out by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. “The Chief Minister will himself announce the package within a fortnight after tying up the loose ends,” he said.

On the power front, he said by December, the thermal plants at Talwandi Sabo, Goindwal Sahib and Rajpura would get operational. “After that, Punjab will become power-surplus.”

Sukhbir said the state government had chalked out a Rs 10,000 crore plan to strengthen the power infrastructure in Punjab.

Assuring uninterrupted eight-hour supply to the farm sector for sowing of paddy, he said the power corporation had already made related arrangements from different sources. On the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee’s announcement to build a memorial for the 1984 Sikh genocide victims, he said it was their “internal matter”.