Badal urges Centre to recruit youth from border areas in Army

Recalling the "great service" rendered to the country by the residents of the border areas in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged the Centre to launch a special recruitment drive to enable the youth of these areas to join the Army and para-military forces.
Stating this on the sidelines of his visit to the border areas of Amritsar district here, Badal, accompanied by state Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, said the youth of the region was blessed with an indomitable spirit of courage and self-sacrifice. Hence, efforts must be made to channelise it.
He said the "brave patriots" of the border region have always fought against all odds to safeguard the unity and integrity of the country, adding that it was high time the country recognised their contribution.

The chief minister said he would soon raise the issue with the Centre and seek a resolution in this regard.
Badal said his government would approach the Defence Ministry to impress upon them the need for widening of the bridges on the defence drains in the region. He said it was the "need of the hour" to avoid any untoward incident.
The chief minister reiterated that despite the ongoing tension at the Indo-Pak border, the farmers of the region would be allowed to harvest their produces "at every cost".

He said he had spoken to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard, who immediately directed the Border Security Force (BSF) to allow the farmers of the border region to harvest their crop.

Likewise, he said the Centre had also allowed those, who had their land across the fence, to reap and lift the crop.
To another query, Badal said his government would soon release the pending compensation of the farmers who had land across the border fence.
He claimed that his government had always extended a helping hand to the farmers of the border region and added that it was "duty-bound" to bail them out of the current crisis as well.