Move to merge Garhshankar villages with new dist flayed

People of Hoshiarpur are opposing the merger of villages of Garhshankar constituency with the proposed Anandpur Sahib district. In this regard, an all-party meeting was held here today on a call given by the District Bar Association.

Representatives of various political and social organisations, who attended the meeting, said they had no objection to the state government’s move on creating the new district, but it is not fair to merge the villages of Hoshiarpur with it. Hoshiarpur district is already very small and people feel that it should not be cut further, they added.

Speaking on the occasion, former Union Minister of State and BJP leader Som Prakash said the government was considering making Sri Anandpur Sahib a new district on November 24. Some areas of Hoshiarpur district are proposed to merged with the new district, which will not be accepted, he added.

Som Prakash said the struggle started by the District Bar Association and other organisations needed to be turned into a mass movement.

Bahujan Samaj Party state president and former MP Avtar Singh Karimpuri said the residents of the villages of Garhshankar constituency, which are being attached to the proposed Sri Anandpur Sahib district, were emotionally attached to Hoshiarpur and they do not want them their areas merged with the new district.

He added that the BSP welcomes the creation of a district associated with the memory of Guru Gobind Singh, but it is not appropriate to reduce the size of Hoshiarpur district.

Karimpuri said the government should respect people’s sentiments and drop the proposal. He added that if possible, the government should make Sri Khuralgarh Sahib a sub-tehsil.

Former MP Avinash Rai Khanna said he had no objection to the creation of a new district, but taking out villages from Hoshiarpur district will not be tolerated at any cost and the BJP will oppose it strongly.

Speaking on the occasion, former Union Minister of State Vijay Sampla and former Cabinet Minister Teekshan Sood said if the BJP had no objection to the creation of the new district, but the Punjab government should clarify that which areas would be included in it.

Sampla added that the government has not yet clarified whether or not villages of Garhshankar constituency will be merged with the new district.

Shiromani Akali Dal district president (Urban) Jatinder Singh Lali Bajwa and former Cabinet Minister Sohan Singh Thandal said the government should clarify its stand on the issue keeping in mind the sentiments of the people.

Garhshankar constituency Congress in-charge Amarpreet Singh Mintu Lali said despite having seven AAP MLAs in the Lok Sabha constituency, none of them has dared to talk to the Chief Minister on the issue. Considering the sentiments of the people, they should support the residents of the constituency, he added.

Former president of the District Bar Association and Congress leader Advocate Ranjit Kumar Kitty said the decision to merge the areas of Hoshiarpur district into the new district without the consent of the people is wrong and unjust. He said instead of sacrificing the interests of the people of Hoshiarpur to hide its failures, the government should take decisions in a democratic manner in consultation with the people and the affected groups.