Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that his government is in talks with major airlines to start direct international flights from Amritsar and Mohali to major destinations like Vanocur. “'We are in talks with Air India, Vistara, British Airways and Air Canada that we need direct flights from Amritsar and Mohali to London, Vancour, Toronto, Silicon Valley, and Chicago. We have an upgraded immigration and customs system. We would have three terminals,” said Chief Minister Mann at an investment summit of ASSOCHAM.

“Lakhs of pilgrims visit Amritsar for ‘darshan’ and to pay obeisance to Darbar Sahib. The city attracts a large number of religious and other tourists,” he said, adding that there is a tremendous scope for tourism in the state. The Chief Minister said the state is working big time on developing tourism, leveraging the natural resources of Ranjit Sagar Dam and other adjoining areas. Clean blue water of Ranjit Sagar Dam would be leveraged to develop tourism on the lines of Udaipur Lake in Rajasthan. “We are in talks with the tourism industry.”

Mann also shared his plan to have for Punjab at least three captive goods trains at an approximate investment of Rs 1000 crore and provide a connectivity boon to the manufacturer exporters and traders in the state. “'Punjab would be the first state in the country to have its own train goods.” Concessional financing schemes of the Railways would be utilised for the project. As for the power availability, the Chief Minister said that Punjab’s captive coal mine in Jharkhand which had remained closed for some reasons, has reopened, “'so there would not be coal shortages for power generation.”

A S Mittal, Chair, Assocham North Region Development Council and Vice Chairman, International Tractors Ltd, said that Punjab clearly has made big leaps along its growth path but “we still have a long way to go. There is a pressing need for overall industrial and economic growth in Punjab by amending or revamping structural policies for the agriculture and allied sectors, industry, trade and economy, MSMEs, service sector, employment generation, infrastructure, real estate and reforming financial policies.”

“One of the areas that need attention is to enhance the digital landscape of Punjab state by building a digital network by connecting the existing wireless network towers with a new fiber-optic network. Furthermore, the state must integrate the local and national government’s scheme, BharatNet, into a holistic digital infrastructure for developing the state’s existing e-governance strategy,” said Mittal.

Kamal Kishor Yadav, IAS, CEO, Invest Punjab, said: “The Investment Promotion Bureau in Punjab is working under the overall guidelines issued by the CM and Minister-in-Charge of Investment Promotion Bureau Anmol Gagan Mann to provide best of facilities to the new investors as well as the existing industries that are planning to expand in the state of Punjab. As a unified regulator, we are ensuring that all the clearances take place in a time-bound and transparent manner. This is a single-window system or one-stop solution that the government of Punjab is providing to all the industries.” /BI/