Build bunkers in border dists, CM tells Niti Aayog
Chandigarh: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Thursday urged a
NITI Aayog
team to make the state's border districts "war resilient" by constructing bunkers and air shelters for urban populations.
He also demanded Punjab's "rightful" share in the waters of the Indus river and reiterated the need for a Yamuna-Satluj link (YSL) canal due to the state's water crisis.
During discussions with the NITI Aayog team, led by member Ramesh Chand and programme director Sanjeet Singh, Mann said in the wake of the recent skirmishes with Pakistan, there was also a need to construct alternate connecting routes to border villages, emergency operations centres along with response command and control centres in each district, and sensors for street lights. He said trauma centres in border cities should be equipped with secondary and tertiary care.
"Communication equipment and secure lines for seamless communication with Air Force, Army, and BSF establishments should be ensured, cyber security measures should be strengthened, resource mapping through GatiShakti, and capacity building of district civil defence and disaster response workforce should be ensured," he said.
To bolster the second line of defence in border regions, Mann emphasised the need to fortify the Border Wing Home Guards Scheme, extending its coverage to all 2,107 border villages.
He requested an increase in the daily duty allowance for jawans from the present Rs 45 to at least Rs 655, stressing its importance for improved coordination between border villages and BSF. Mann also sought Rs 2,829 crore for upgrading infrastructure and equipment, including jammers, to combat the smuggling of weapons and drugs via drones.
The CM said a large area of the border lacked jamming systems and advocated for a revision of the Centre's vibrant village programme to include more border villages of Punjab.
He pointed out that Punjab's border districts are densely populated, with 1,500 villages within 10km of the border, yet only 101 villages had been selected under the scheme.
Mann said border districts of Punjab needed to be supported along the lines of special incentives extended to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir, to revitalise the state's trade and industrial sector.
Mann also sought a special economic package for Punjab, including Rs 2,000 crore for a special economic zone and the development of industrial corridors along the Bharat Mala
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