Start work on industrial corridor, say industrialists

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 7

The city based industrialists, real estate developers and intelligentsia have demanded urgent measures to realise the proposed Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (ADKIC) to bolster the sagging industry.

A city-based industrialist Rajan Bedi, whose firm has been in import, export, fertiliser and real estate development project, said, “As the holy city has also been selected to be developed as smart city, it is pertinent to give concrete implementation to the ADKIC.” He said the ADKIC would be an engine of growth while smart city would ensure swift and excellent facilities at par with international level.

Another industrialist Kamal Dalmia said, “Growth of economic activity means better economic status of the people and more disposable income. An industrial zone spanning 20 cities across seven states is set to become an engine of economic as well as real estate growth as it will bind diverse cultures, linguistic groups and ethnic identities living on massive spread of the Indo-Gangetic plain.”

“The city has maintained sustained business ties with the towns falling under the proposed ADKIC,’ he remarked.

Benefits under the industrial corridor

The industrial corridor project envisages a major expansion of infrastructure and industry, including industrial clusters, rail, road, port and air connectivity along the route. This will certainly bolster trade and economic ties and will see a spurt in manufacturing.

The city is already well-connected by road to Afghanistan via Pakistan. In order to facilitate a swift exchange of cargo, a state-of-the-art dry land port is already under operation at the Attari-Wagah joint checkpost. It is being jointly looked after by border guards of India and Pakistan.

Trade facilitation centre to come up in Pakistan

A similar trade facilitation centre is expected to come up across the border in Pakistan. The Amritsar Airport has air links with Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, and Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan Airways and Turkmenistan Airlines have flights between the city and their capital cities.

Negative impact on psychology of the people

However, Dr Inderpal, general secretary, National Centre for Labour, Punjab unit, said industrial corridor would ultimately have a negative impact on psychology of the people. He said this negative impact would reflect in agriculture, dairy farming and other allied earning resources. “Since our country is passing through a transitory phase, these projects will increase commericalisation and dependence on computers. The entire information of amenities like water, power supply and others will be stored on cyber data, which can be hacked any time. Under the industrial corridors, land will be acquired for developing industrial pockets thereby decreasing the area under tillage,” he added .