Harpal Singh Cheema lays foundations for a community hall and canal pipeline

The Dirba constituency today witnessed a wave of development as Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema laid the foundation stones of Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Community Hall in Dirba, which will be constructed at a cost of around Rs.2 crores and a 17-kilometer canal water pipeline project worth around Rs.2.20 crore in Village Janal of Dirba constituency.

After laying the foundation stone of the community hall, the Cabinet Minister announced that the construction of community hall, having seating capacity of 500 people, will be completed within 6 months.

He said that Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government is committed to the comprehensive development of the state and as part of this initiative, development works are being carried out at a rapid pace across constituencies, ensuring that all challenges faced by the people are systematically addressed.

The cabinet minister said that a long-standing demand of the scheduled castes and economically disadvantaged families of Dirba for construction of the hall has been fulfilled.

The cabinet minister stressed, this hall will benefit a large number of people, particularly enabling poor and middle-class families to conduct their joyous and solemn occasions with great convenience, noting that when poor and middle-class families are compelled to organize their events at expensive venues by taking loans, they become burdened under debt for several years, with their financial difficulties remaining unresolved. However, this community hall will prove to be extremely beneficial for the people and will also protect them from falling into debt, he added. S. Cheema also informed that grants have been released for the three gates of the Gurdwara Sahib in Dirba.

Earlier, laying the foundation stone of a 17-kilometer canal water pipeline project in village Janal, the Finance Minister said that this is the part of initiative focused on ensuring that every agricultural field of the the state receive canal water facilities.

S. Cheema said that upon completion of this pipeline, around 850 acres of agricultural land will receive canal water supply. He said that the Punjab Government's objective is to ensure that every drop of canal water in Punjab reaches the farmers' fields. This initiative will not only conserve groundwater resources but also result in significant cost savings for farmers while substantially enhancing soil fertility, he categorically added.

He informed them that canal water pipeline installation work is progressing at a rapid pace across various villages in the constituency, which will provide canal water facilities to a vast area of Dirba constituency and reduce dependence on groundwater.

With groundwater conservation in mind, he urged farmers to prioritize direct seeding of paddy. The area under direct seeding in the constituency had increased last year and is expected to expand further this year. He said that if water resources are not preserved, agricultural activities in the state will become impossible. The government's efforts to provide canal water will prove instrumental in conserving groundwater resources, said the finance minister.

The cabinet minister mentioned that special focus is being laid to the development of villages of the Dirba constituency and he is diligently overseeing the completion of various development projects under his supervision. The Dirba constituency is emerging as an exemplary model throughout the state, he added.

Prominent amongst others who were present on this occasion included OSD Tapinder Singh Sohi, President Municipal Panchayat Dirba Maninder Singh, SDM Dirba Rajesh Kumar Sharma, DSP Dirba Dr. Rupinder Kaur Bajwa, SDO Public Works Daljit Singh, JE Jivanjot Singh, Ajay Singla (former President of Truck Union), Sunil Bansal, Mangat Rai (former President of Sheller Association), Municipal Councillors, Sarpanch Harpreet Singh, Panchayat members Mandeep Singh, Gurtej Singh, Raj Singh, Navdeep Kaur, Harbias Singh, Harpreet Kaur, Harpinder Kaur, Simranjit Singh and Harbans Kaur.