Punjab Chief Minster Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday laid the foundation stone of Degree College for Girls at the local Boota Mandi and announced that his Government would accomplish the target of establishing 50 Colleges in the next three years.The Chief Minister said that they had initiated the process for setting up 17 Colleges in just two years of his Government while the previous Government had made only 30 Colleges in its decade long regime. He said that the SAD-BJP Government has made an announcement in 2008 to establish a college here but there was no development in this regard and it was just a namesake announcement – not meant to be fulfilled.Talking about the Degree College to be constructed at the Boota Mandi here, the Chief Minister said that it was a decade old demand of the area, which has first raised the issue in 1992. He said that this College would also be completed in one and half years at a cost of Rs 13 crores as the 3-acre land needed for it had been transferred by Mandi Board to Higher Education.The Chief Minister said that education was the most powerful agent for bringing about reconstruction of the society on the principles of equality and social justice, and the spread of higher education was the panacea for most social troubles. He said that Boota Mandi was traditionally populated by socially and economically marginalized sections of the society, who were denied opportunities of higher education for a long time. The building will have an Administrative Block, Arts & Science Block, Zoology / Botany Lab, Multipurpose Hall for performing various cultural/ educational activities and lush green grounds for sports.Captain Amarinder Singh reiterated that the Congress Government would open the new degree colleges in those Assembly Constituencies which did not currently have degree colleges – to impart quality education to all needy sections of Punjab. He said that Jalandhar would get two Colleges - one at Boota Mandi and another at Shahkot.
Earlier, welcoming the Chief Minister, MLA Sushil Kumar Rinku said that it was a historic day in his constituency when the long pending demand of Degree College for Girls was being fulfilled by the Congress Government. He apprised the CM that the people of Jalandhar west constituency staged a protest for 107 days at this particular site demanding establishment of the college. He said that this endeavour of Punjab Government would go a long way to further expand the ambit of education in this region. He also demanded a Medical College for the region so as to provide efficacious healthcare facilities to the people of Doaba. Rinku also urged the Chief Minister to get the 85th Amendment implemented in letter and spirit.Member Parliament Chaudhary Santokh Singh said that Captain Amarinder Singh acceded to the long pending demand of college in a short span of time as he made announcement in this regard during the birth anniversary of the Dr. BR Ambedkar at Jalandhar. The Member Parliament also thanked the Chief Minister for Rs. 112 crore Skill Development Project to be launched by Tata Group at Jalandhar and MoU for which had already been inked. He also demanded a state-of-the-art super speciality hospital and medical college at Jalandhar. He also requested the CM to get the 85th amendment in true spirit.Member Parliament from Gurdaspur Sunil Jakhar said that as tension continues at the Border, we should pray for the welfare and well-being of the entire nation. Congratulating the Chief Minister for putting new milestones in the field of education, he said that these educational institutions were the biggest gifts to build a healthy and strong nation. He lashed out at the Centre for blatantly ignoring the interests of SC fraternity especially in the case of post-matric scholarships. He said that we should work together to realise the dreams of Dr BR Ambedkar by providing education to all. He also said that the people of country should take decisive decision in the coming time.Meanwhile, Chaudhary Santokh Singh, MLAs Sushil Kumar Rinku, Pargat Singh, Chaudhary Surinder Singh, Rajinder Beri, Avtar Singh Bawa Henry, Hardev Singh Laddi and councillor Sunita Rinku honoured the Chief Minister with a portrait of Dr BR Ambedkar.Prominent amongst those present on the occasion were Media Advisor to CM Raveen Thukral, MLA Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Mayor Jagdish Raj Raja, Senior Deputy Mayor Surinder Kaur, Deputy Mayor Harsimranjit Singh Bunty, Additional Chief Secretary Higher Education SK Sandhu, Divisional Commissioner B Purushartha, and Deputy Commissioner Varinder Sharma.