PM has assured about talking to Praful Patel on Amritsar airport: Cong lawmaker

NEW DELHI - Amirtsar-based Congress lawmaker O.P.Soni has said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured that he would personally speak to Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on withdrawal of Air India (AI)’s Amritsar-London-Toronto flight from the Rajasansi International Airport.

Soni, who represents Amritsar-West in the State Assembly, told ANI that he received this assurance from Dr. Singh when a delegation from Amritsar called on him.

He said the Prime Minister gave a patient hearing to the delegation comprising top industrialists and traders of Punjab, and said that he wants the airport to thrive, as it would boost the economy of the State.

The meeting with the Prime Minister lasted more than half-an-hour.

The delegation also submitted a memorandum to Dr. Singh containing eight to nine important issues, including the issue of compensation for farmers, who have their lands across the barbed fence on the Indo-Pak border.

“We also demanded that a monitoring of the central funds being released to the SAD-BJP government in the state should be done, as the funds are being misused”, Soni said.

Soni rued that Amritsar has already paid a heavy price since partition, being marginalized in terms of overall growth when compared to other places in Punjab.

He said Dr. Singh had asked for a proposal for facilitating integrated development of Amritsar.

The issue of Patti-Makhu rail link was also taken up, as its construction would shorten the distance between Amritsar and Mumbai by 240 kilometers, he added. he delegation invited Dr. Singh to come to Amritsar with US President Barack Obama when the latter visits India.

The delegation included Amrit Lal Jain, President, Punjab Veopar Mandal, Dr.Santokh Singh, Acting President Chief Khalsa Diwan, Piyare Lal Setgh, President, Amritsar Citizen Council, Pardeep Saini, President Amritsar Bar Association, Brij Mohan Khanna, Chairman Khanna Papers, BK Bajaja, President Indo-Foreign Chamber of Commerce and Jaswinder Samra, Agriculture. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)