Agitation pressure shifts foundation venue

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on his visit to Chandigarh on September 27, will lay the foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Science at a place other than the proposed site.

The foundation stone will be laid at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical and Educational Research, Mohali, and that will be later transported to the identified site. This is because the land at the proposed site is under litigation.

The farmers in the villages of Mohali districts are agitating because they did not get the market price for the land acquired by the state government.

Also, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of several big projects like laying the foundation stone of the dedicated freight corridor (eastern) project, remote inauguration of the Chandigarh-Morinda rail Line, remote flagging of Amritsar-Haridwar Jan Shatabadi Express and inauguration of Field Fresh Center of Agricultural Excellence at village Ladhowal (District Ludhiana) will be held.

Union Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav will also accompany the prime minister on September 27.

Last year, Prime Minister visited Ludhiana on September 23 for the inauguration of Satguru Pratap Singh Apollo Hospital.

Speaking to Business Standard, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises Ltd informed that, the prime minister would inaugurate our 300-acre Field Fresh Center of Agricultural Excellence, which is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Elro Holdings India Ltd; an investment company of the US based Rothschild, at village Ladhowal.

Field Fresh Foods is sourcing high quality fruits and vegetables from key growers across the country via the `collaborative farming' route.

Company has acquired more than 4000 acres of land in Punjab.

While Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar Gupta said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav would lay down the foundation stone of dedicated freight corridor (eastern) on this visit.

This freight corridor will be constructed at a cost of Rs 22,000 crore and a separate third track would be laid between Ludhiana and Kolkata and Mumbai so that the industrial hub of Punjab can be connected to the seaports. It will take six to seven years for the project to complete.

Remote inauguration of Chandigarh-Morinda Rail Line and remote flagging of Amritsar-Hardwar Jan Shatabadi Express will also be held.