Punjab today added another feather to its cap in dairy industry when the Deputy Chief Minister of the state, S. Sukhbir Singh Badal inaugurated a dairy feed plant here and said that Punjab would emerge as a major player in the dairy industry with this plant becoming operational.The Deputy Chief Minister further said that this plant has been constructed by the Cargill Feed and Nutrition India, a renowned name in dairy feed sector with active support from the Punjab government. Divulging more, he also said that this plant has come up at a cost of Rs. 100 crore and the majority of maize needed to manufacture dairy feed would be purchased from the farmers of the state. He also revealed that this plant would result in employment avenues for around 400 people.
He also disclosed that the plant would act as a game changer in terms of educating the farming community about latest trends and innovative technology in the dairy sector leading to an increase in their income and standard of living.Coming to the initiatives undertaken by the state government in food processing sector, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the state is well on course towards occupying a prominent place on the world map in the sector with the persistent efforts of the SAD-BJP government and the Union Food Processing Industries Minister Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Giving more details, he said that a food processing project worth Rs. 1500 crore and Asia's biggest is in the process of being set up at Kapurthala and besides this, the food parks would also be developed at Ludhiana, Phagwara and Fazilka from whom the farmers of the state would benefit immensely. He also said that the SAD-BJP government has undertaken record development of Punjab during the past 9 years making it one of the most frontline states of the country.
S. Badal while lambasting Congress, AAP and Fourth Front dismissed their challenge. He said that AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has shunned his responsibility as Chief Minister and has eyes on grabbing power in Punjab while PPCC Chief Captain Amarinder Singh cannot showcase even a single achievement during his tenure as Chief Minister from 2002-2007. He also pooh-pooed the fourth front and said that its leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has only indulged in flip-flop instead of taking firm stand on any issue. Taking pot-shots at fourth front, S. Badal said that many such fronts would be seen in the light of coming assembly polls but the people would only vote for development and progress in which SAD-BJP has clear edge.Also speaking on the occasion, Chairman Cargill India Siraj Chaudhary thanked Punjab Government and Union Minister Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal in making this project come to fruition.Among others present on the occasion included MLA Sarup Chand Singla, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Basant Garg, SSP Swapan Sharma, and Managing Director Cargill Feed and Nutrition India Achyuth Iyengar.