Region finds mention in NDA's manifesto

Jalandhar, February 12

The NDA’s manifesto for 2022 promised that Jalandhar would be developed as a sports capital of India with a stadium for football, another for hockey, along with other facilities. While the BJP and its alliance partners in Punjab released its manifesto in Jalandhar, two days before the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jalandhar, both Jalandhar and Doaba featured several times in the manifesto.

Notably, Jalandhar’s importance as a sporting city has time and again garnered mention from political parties. While Sports Minister Pargat Singh has been laying thrust on sporting facilities, AAP has also laid thrust on Jalandhar as a sporting hub months ago.

The BJP said Jalandhar would be developed as a sports capital with state-of-the-art sporting facilities. Besides sporting sops, the NDA’s manifesto announced dry ports, special economic zones, SAI training centre, PGI satellite centre, development on lines of metro cities and promotion of domestic flights for Doaba regions.

The NDA’s key promises for the Doaba region and Jalandhar included three new dry ports in Jalandhar, Amritsar and Bathinda. It also included special economic zone along with the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway that will connect key economic and industrial hubs such as Ambala, Chandigarh, Mohali, Sangrur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Kapurthala.