Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday said discontinuing international flights from Amritsar international airport amounts to discrimination against Punjab’s growing aviation prospects.
He said international flights have been diverted to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi in a “deliberate” attempt by the Centre to make the airport in the capital a profitable venture at the cost of Amritsar’s airport.
He said Amritsar has tremendous potential for huge revenue as it is an acclaimed tourist hub due to the Golden Temple. He categorically said Amritsar airport has been incurring heavy losses due to economic non-viability as international flights to Toronto were discontinued due to alleged bad intention of the Centre to generate more profit in Delhi airport.
“It is the height of stepmotherly treatment with the state as despite being the most profitable international airport in the country, the Union government discontinued flights from Amritsar to Toronto. Now it has stopped even national flights to Chandigarh,” Badal said. The sole motive behind all such “gimmicks” is to harm the state economy, which is not at all acceptable at any cost, Badal added.
Mining issue
He said it was a known fact that due to denial of permission for mining by the Centre, the cost of small minerals like sand and gravel has gone up in Punjab. Despite knowing all these facts, state Congress leaders have been giving baseless statements to mislead people, he said. According to Badal, the state government has always conducted auction for mines in a transparent manner to rule out any scope for extending largesse to any particular
person.
