Pb govt to preserve monuments, places of historical

The Punjab government will preserve and maintain the monuments and the places holding historical and cultural importance in the state, minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said today.
The government will also develop these places as tourist spots so as to make the people aware about the "glorious historical annals" of Punjab, Sidhu, who holds the Tourism and Cultural Affairs portfolio, said.
He was here at the Hussainiwala martyrs memorial to pay homage to the martyrs.
The minister said the issue pertaining to reopening of the Hussainiwala border for trade between India and Pakistan, as was done before the 1971 war, would be strongly pursued before the Union government.

If trade can be carried through the Attari-Wagah border, why not from the Hussainiwala border also? he questioned.
Sidhu said the reopening of the trade route will create an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity between the two countries besides strengthening the economic, religious and social bonds.
He said the Punjab government would make special efforts to bring to fore the historical importance of the Hussainiwala martyrs memorial, sites of battles of Mudki, Ferozshah, and Sobhaon, fought during the Anglo-Sikh war, and Gurudwara Saragarhi Sahib Ferozpur Cantonment.
On the occasion, Sidhu announced that the place where freedom fighters used to take shelter in Toori bazaar area, which has been notified by the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department, would be turned into a memorial as a mark of respect to the martyrs.