Manpreet Badal asks Centre to set up pharma park in Bathinda
Darpan News Desk IANS, 22 Oct, 2021 10:35 AM
Chandigarh, Oct 22 (IANS) Building a pharmaceutical park in Punjab's Bathinda would serve the entire country, particularly the northern region, state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said on Friday.
Raising the demand at a meeting with Union Health and Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Badal said it is equally important to diversify Punjab's economy as well as its agriculture.
Mandaviya carefully listened to the facts presented and assured the Finance Minister that he would give the proposal the highest consideration.
Being a border state, Punjab must employ its youth productively to avoid them falling victim to sinister designs emanating from neighbours, said Badal, while adding the establishment of a pharmaceutical park would provide direct employment to around 100,000 people and indirect employment to nearly 200,000 people.
He stressed the presence of a fully operational 'A' level railway station, availability of over 1,350 acres, and proximity to the Bathinda Oil Refinery make this site ideal for establishing a pharma park.
He said 134 acres of water bodies, lakes, and ponds bolster the land cluster greatly, providing many additional benefits for establishing, maintaining, and operating a pharma facility.
The pharma industry will also receive substantial support from some of the largest USFDA-approved pharmaceutical companies, such as Sun Pharma, Centrient, and IOL Chemicals.
Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for Covid management in the national capital, stated that no one can deny that Delhi grappled with an oxygen shortage during the peak of the second wave of the Covid pandemic (April-May) and several people died due to oxygen shortage.
Speaking at the meeting, Sonia Gandhi said, "Monsoon session of Parliament was a complete washout entirely due to the government's obstinate and arrogant unwillingness to discuss and debate urgent issues of public importance."
The Chief Secretary said the 300-bed state of the art hospital will act as a tertiary care centre for the entire northern region, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's Subject Expert Committee has granted Zydus Cadila's three-dose vaccine emergency use authorisation in India. The vaccine can be administered to people aged 12 and above.
The Punjab Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested former state Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini in a fraud case pertaining to the sale of land in 2020 and is likely to be produced in a court on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi has been critical of the Centre and has been raising his voice over several issues. He has criticised the Modi-led government over the fuel price hike, alleged Pegasus snooping row, three farm laws and several others in recent times.
