Hoshiarpur hopes for big ticket projects from PM Modi

Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi

Hoshiarpur, May 28

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to hold a public meeting on the penultimate day (May 30) of polling at Hoshiarpur, all eyes are on the promises which are repeated in every election for years, yet remain pending despite the passage of years. With Modi’s visit scheduled for the closing day of campaigning, expectations have risen over the local issues likely to be addressed at the meeting.

The area is not much fertile. Agricultural productivity is too low. There are no irrigation facilities. Water level is too deep to bore for tube wells. There is no industry. Many of the roads are still seasonal and there is no rail link. What we require is a mega project so that the unemployed youth of the area may get employment and living standards of people can be improved. Rakesh Sharma, resident of Janauri village

Four major issues have seemingly surfaced in the constituency, including finishing the medical college for which foundation stone had been laid twice, and once it was missed by Modi, Tertiary Cancer Care Hospital for which the foundation stone was laid just before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by the then Union Minister for Health Santosh Chowdhary, a mega project for Kandi to provide employment on a large scale to the youth of the area and restoration of an industrial package for Hoshiarpur.

A native of Janauri village, Rakesh Sharma, says, “The area is not much fertile, agricultural productivity too low, there are no irrigation facility, water level is too deep to bore for tube-wells, there is no industry, many of the roads are still seasonal and there is no rail link. What we require is a mega project so that the unemployed youth of the area may get employment and living standard of people can be improved.”

“During every election, the leaders come and repeat the promises, but no one bothers about Kandi area after coming to power. For them, Kandi is just a place to ignore and they don’t even have time to listen to the woes of the people. The wild animals entering the residential areas and agricultural land have emerged as one of the biggest problems, yet no one pays heed to it,” says Rakesh Sharma.

In the 1970s, the government had given a package to promote industry in the area under which various facilities were being provided to start industries here. As a result, units came in here, but the package was discontinued and the facilities provided to the industries vanished because of which growth came to a halt. Adding to the odd situation is the industrial package being provided in the neighbouring areas of Himachal Pradesh. Umesh Jain, a small-scale industrialist, says, “Around half of the industry in the micro and small sector has suffered a huge setback and closed after the GST regime came into being. The existing units are also not far from closure if it continues to be like this. Adding to the woes is the industry enjoying ample facilities in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh like cheaper electricity and tax holidays, just 20 kms away from here in Himachal. The need of the day is an industrial package at least on par with Himachal Pradesh. The government has to be clear if it wants to save the micro and small industries or not. If it wants to save this sector, specialised GST reforms and special package for micro and small industry is the need of the hour.”

There is a long-pending demand for a medical college in the area as there are no specialised health facilities in the district. People have to rush to either Ludhiana or Chandigarh for it. A medical college was announced for Hoshiarpur and the foundation stone had been laid twice, once by the then CM Captain Amarinder Singh in 2021. Once the stone laying was missed as it was in the proposed list of foundation stones to be laid by PM Modi in January 2022, but he had to return due to a security lapse. Then the foundation stone for the same medical college was laid by Bhagwant Mann as CM of Punjab in 2023, in the presence of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. Also, for the tertiary cancer care hospital to be built in Hoshiarpur, the foundation stone was laid in February 2014. Even after 10 years and tall claims by the government at the Centre and in state, the project failed to take off.