Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh, November 13-
Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday called upon all the intellectuals, academicians, industrialists, bureaucrats and other stakeholders to join hands for emerging Punjab as the frontrunner state in the country.
Addressing the gathering during ‘Vision Punjab’ seminar here at Panjab University, the Chief Minister said that Punjab is a fertile land which has been blessed by saints, seers, prophets and martyrs. He said that despite being a sacred land Punjab has lagged behind in the pace of development due to the apathetic approach of the previous regimes. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the hard working and resilient farmers of the state have made the country self-reliant in food production but are facing the apathy of those in power at the centre.
The Chief Minister said that those farmers who are known as the food growers today will face criminal charges after a fortnight for burning the paddy straw. Mann reiterated that lodging FIRs against the farmers is not the solution to tackle this problem as it involves social stigma adding he underlined the need for developing a sustainable mechanism for the management of the paddy straw burning menace.