PM to begin hectic two-day visit to Punjab from tomorrow

Amritsar, Dec 18 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will start a two-day visit to Punjab, his third this year, from tomorrow, in which he is scheduled to launch some major development projects in his home-state due to go to polls early next year.

Though Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had, during a recent press meet here, had ruled out a special economic package, saying the Prime Minister had already done a lot for Punjab, at least the people in border areas suffering hardships for long, were hoping for some succour.

The Prime Minister, who would arrive here tomorrow evening, was expected to pay an early morning visit next day to the Golden Temple with his wife, where they would listen to the Gurbani in the sanctum sanctorum.

The SGPC plans to honour him with a 'siropa' (robe of honour).

it will also submit a memorandum to Dr Singh seeking, among other things, an end to the ''black list,'' which banned some Sikh youths from visiting the country, the SGPC sources said.

The Congress, which is aiming to take the maximum mileage out of the PM's visit, has organised a major rally to be addressed by Dr Singh.

The 18th century Gobindgarh Fort, occupied by a number of masters from Maharaja Ranjit Singh to the infamous British commander Brig-Gen R E H Dyer and has been under the care of Indian Army ever since Independence, would see another change of guard when Dr Singh takes the keys of the fort from the Panthers Division GOC Major Gen K M S Shergill and hands it over to the Deputy Commissioner, in the presence of the Chief Minister on December 20.

The day will also see the opening of the four-laning of the Amritsar-Wagah road with remote, by the Prime Minister who will also make a formal announcement of the mega-project to strengthen the Wagah Joint Border Check Post, for which the notification to acquire 120 acres of land has just been issued.

He will inaugurate the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the 600-MW Thermal power plant in Goindwal town of Amritsar district by a remote control.

This holy city has been selected under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM) and the PM would launch the multi-crore project during the visit.

The Prime Minister would also halt at Jalandhar, to meet a group of progressive farmers at the Jallowal, known for the world's largest citric nursery project.

In another brief halt, Dr Singh was expected to lay foundation stone for the upgradation of the Halwara Airport in Ludhiana, before returning to New Delhi.

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