FEROZEPUR: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Sunday called upon the people of Punjab to draw inspiration and imbibe the spirit of patriotism among themselves through the supreme sacrifices made by our great martyrs during the freedom struggle of India and sought their whole hearted cooperation to make Punjab as a front-runner state in the country. 

Addressing a mammoth gathering after unfurling the national flag here at a State level function organized here at Shaheed Bhagat Singh stadium on the occasion of 64th Independence Day, Badal said that Indian history was replete with the saga of numerous sacrifices made by the unsung heroes from time immemorial during the freedom struggle but we had a short memory and seldom remember our forefathers who laid down their lives to achieve the ultimate goal of Independence. 

 

The Chief Minister further said that Punjabis have not only played a vanguard role in the freedom struggle but also made an outstanding contribution for maintaining the hard earned freedom and ushering in an era of overall development and prosperity. Badal lauded the role of Punjabis for making more than 80% sacrifices in the freedom struggle despite the fact they merely constituted two-and-a-half percent of country’s population.   Punjabis have a prominent place and we are proud of their brave and unique contributions.  The great martyrs from Punjab Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and numerous others who made supreme sacrifices for the country's freedom and inspired our young generation with the values of patriotism and nationalism", said Mr. Badal.  

Badal lamented that the dreams of our great martyrs had not yet been fulfilled as they dreamt of India free from the maladies of poverty, illiteracy and economic inequality.  He blamed the planners of India who were insensitive to their problems and had failed miserably in providing them the basic civic amenities even after 63 years of Independence. He reiterated that the SAD-BJP government was committed to fulfill the dreams of our martyrs to ensure all round development in the state.  He said that our government during three-and-a-half years had made spectacular achievements in the field of education, power, health and infrastructure. 

The Chief Minister further said that the state government had embarked upon an ambitious plan to eradicate pollution from the river Satluj, the Beas and the Ghaggar at a cost of Rs.2054 crore by providing the facilities of sewerage, drinking water and sewerage treatment plants in all the 44 towns which were directly discharging its municipal waste/industrial effluents in these rivers.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister inspected the guard of honour and took a salute from the impressive march past from the contingents of PAP, Punjab Police, BSF, Home Guards, NCC cadets and PAP Band led by the Parade Commander Deputy Supdt. of Police Mr. Rajeshwar Singh Sidhu.  

  

On this occasion, Badal presented State Level Awards comprising a gold medal, a certificate, a shawl and a cheque of Rs.25000 and Rs.11000 to 36 prominent personalities for their outstanding contribution in different fields.  The recipients included. Tejinder Kaur w/o warden Raghbir Singh and Sandeep Kaur w/o late  Sukhwinder Singh both for bravery  posthumously, Mr. Hakam Singh, Gurdarshan Singh,Pawlinder Singh, Dalbir singh, Vinod Kumar, Mohd.Idris, Ajit Kumar, Bhola Singh, Harjit Singh Grewal, Jagtar Singh, Karamjit Singh, Radha Krishan, Jarnail Singh, Mr. Mandeep Singh Mann, Balbir Singh, Davinder Singh,  Gurmit Singh, Mr.Satwant Bhalla, Mr.Sanjiv Kumar Singh, Mr.Kashmiri Lal, Mr.GJ Singh, Yashpal Bangia, Balram Luthra, Dr.Mohammed Jamil, Dr.Gurnam Singh, Dr.Baldev Singh Aulakh, Shoba Ankhi, Ustad Laxman Singh, Bhai Gurcharan Singh Kanwal, Ustad Villayat Khan, Sandeep Kaur and Dr.Harshinder Kaur. The Chief Minister honoured Mrs.Rama Devi w/o late Krishan Chand posthumously with a cash award of Rs.5 lakh in recognition with exemplary bravery.