After cleaning 'mess' of previous govts, Punjab restoring pristine glory: Mann

Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said his government is now on the path of restoring the pristine glory of the state after cleaning the "mess" created by the previous regimes.

He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the World Skill Campus of Excellence comprising Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and Multi Skill Development Centre (MSDC) here.

Mann said the state lagged behind in the process of development due to the "regressive policies and malicious intent" of the previous regimes.

He said those were the times when industry was suffering, drug mafia and gangsters were flexing muscles under the open patronisation of the erstwhile rulers and the development of Punjab had derailed.

However, Mann said since day one of assuming charge, his government focused on holistic development of the state and the prosperity of its people.

Mann said the state government has fulfilled almost all the guarantees promised to people, adding that even those guarantees that were not made have also been given to people.

On one hand, the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is enhancing the rates of toll every day whereas on the other hand, the state government has closed 17 toll plazas in Punjab, he said.

Likewise, Mann said, a flawless plan was chalked out and executed to give a major push to the development of every sector.

Unfortunately, water was depleted in 117 out of 153 blocks which went into the dark zone, he said as he lashed out at the previous governments for not bothering about making any effort to save the groundwater while the farmers at the tail ends never got water.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has revived 15,947 water courses in the state due to which water reached at the tail ends even in remotest villages, he claimed.