All cities to be connected with 4-6 lanes by 2017: Sukhbir

Pitching for all-round development in Punjab, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today announced that all the major cities and towns of the state would be connected with 4-6 lane roads by 2017.
The SAD-BJP government is laying an extensive road network, a prerequisite to development, making Punjab the second state in the country to have a road network of such a broad scale, he said.
Addressing a Sangat Darshan programme here, Sukhbir said special attention has been paid to develop the road infrastructure around Moga which would soon get another impetus as the construction of the
Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar-Moga-Barnala road has already begun, thus providing a vital link in connecting Doaba and Malwa regions, adding that the project would cost around Rs 1,500 crore.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the SAD-BJP government has been the "harbinger of massive development and prosperity" in Punjab in the last nine years which is amply clear from the state achieving a 'power surplus' status.
He said power production has doubled in the state with the investment of Rs 23,520 crore, besides spending Rs 4,000 crore on development and facelift of cities and towns which would ensure sewerage and clean drinking water facilities, thus giving a boost to infrastructure.

Talking about the state government's initiatives in the farming sector, Sukhbir said the process to disburse new tubewell connections has commenced and soon enough, the needy farmers would have power-run motors installed in their fields.

He said the free health insurance scheme has been running successfully in the state as 23,000 people have availed the benefits.
Badal exuded confidence that riding on its development plank, the SAD-BJP coalition would score a "hat-trick" in the 2017 Assembly polls in Punjab.
He alleged that in spite of the "long list of achievements" of the state government, the political rivals are deliberately playing a "devious game" to "defame" Punjab.
He said, first the Sikhs were branded as "terrorists" and now, the entire Punjabi community is being painted as "drug addicts" thanks to a "deep-rooted conspiracy".
Badal said a drive to fill 7,000 vacancies in posts of constables in the police department has begun with the receipt of 5.5 lakh applications.

He also said dope tests would be conducted on the eligible candidates and the result would be a "befitting reply" to the "anti-Punjab and anti-development" forces.