Punjab Governor calls for boosting agri economy

Chandigarh, Aug 14 (UNI) Stressing on boosting the agricultural economy of the border state, Punjab Governor Gen (retd) S F Rodrigues said that special focus was being given to this vital sector of the economy.

In his message on the eve of the nations 61st Independence Day, he said that various innovative steps had been taken to improve the economic status of the farming class and reduce their burden on account of indebtedness, under-employment and other serious issues of social concern.

A responsive, accountable and transparent institutional mechanism had been evolved, to establish linkages with marketing and agri-export ventures, by adopting multi-prolonged strategies, he said. A world class modern terminal market was being set up in Chandigarh, to facilitate the export of agri-produce by the farmers of the region, eliminating the role of the middle man, thus enhancing the income of farmers, he said while pointing out that this project would give an added impetus to the development of the agro-business in the whole region.

The process of upgradation of the International Airport at Chandigarh was already in an advanced stage of planning and execution. Similarly, other areas like education, health, social security, rural development, welfare of scheduled castes, Housing of Urban development and Industry are being given top most attention to make Punjab a model of development and economic growth, he said.

Extending his felicitations to the people of Punjab and the Union Territory. Chandigarh, at home and abroad on this occasion, the Governor also extended his greetingS to the armed forces and martyrs of the freedom struggle. The Governor recalled the suffering the people of Punjab had to undergo due to the partition of the country.

He said that the occasion was also a moment for introspection for analysing the successes and failures and re-defining priorities to meet the future challenges and aspirations of the people. ''It is time for us to see whether we have acted in this spirit and effectively faced the various challenges of the last 60 years, or are still in the process of consolidating our capabilities and capacities, to fulfill our dreams'', he added.

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