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Punjab Govt. hopeful of Pak visa consulate at Amritsar

`Chief Minister has already taken up the matter with the Centre'

Chandigarh: The Punjab PWD Minister, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Thursday said the State Government was hopeful of the opening of a Pakistan visa consulate in Amritsar soon as Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had already approached the Centre in this regard.

The visa consulate at Amritsar would become a reality with the plying of the Amritsar-Lahore bus soon, Mr Bajwa said at `Meet the Press Programme' at the Chandigarh Press Club here.

He pointed out that the State Government had already made a request to the Union Government to take an initiative for a Pak visa consulate at Amritsar and that this demand was originally made by the Chief Minister and not by Amritsar Lok Sabha member Navjot Singh Sidhu of BJP.

"If the Pakistan visa consulate opens up in Amritsar, it would be an achievement of the Punjab Government," he added.

Mr. Sidhu had stated on Wednesday that he had made the demand for the visa consulate at Amritsar to facilitate the people of Punjab visit Nankana Sahib and other Sikh shrines in Pakistan.

Mr Bajwa on Thursday said it was Chief Minister Amarinder Singh who first took the initiative and raised voice for smooth procurement of visa to Pakistan by the common man and eventually bringing the people of both the countries closer.

Mr Bajwa, who had accompanied Capt Amarinder Singh to Pakistan during the Sikh religious procession from Delhi to Nankana Sahib, said the visit had been very successful as it brought diplomatic understanding between the leaders of both the States of Punjab on either side of the border.

He pointed out that that the highway from Lahore to Nankana Sahib has been named as `Guru Nanak Marg' by the Parvez Elahi government in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

"Such developments are taking place through the efforts of Capt Amarinder Singh and Mr Elahi," he said.

The PWD Minister said the Amarinder Singh government would retain power in the State during the next Assembly elections in February 2007 as "the people of the State have faith in the present regime".

Briefing on the achievements of his department, Mr. Bajwa said the procedure for widening of the Ambala-Chandigarh, Jalandhar-Amritsar and Amritsar-Pathankot highways up to six lanes had started and this task would be completed by 2007.

Besides, he said, the State had been successful in attracting public-private participation to construct the State's two major corridors, the Balachaur-Garhshankar-Hoshiarpur-Dasuya and Patiala-Samana-Patran roads, while the notice of award has been issued for three highways namely Kiratpur-Anandpur Sahib-Una, Ferozepur- Fazilka and Patiala-Nabha-Malerkotla. Moreover, the bids for six more corridors were under process and these routes included Hoshiarpur-Tanda, Moga-Kotkapra, Sirhind-Morinda-Ropar, Hoshiarpur-Phagwara, Dakha-Raikot-Barnala and Bhawanigarh-Nabha-Gobindgarh, he said. -- UNI

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Punjab Govt. hopeful of Pak visa consulate at Amritsar

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