SAD-BJP candidate from Amritsar, Arun Jaitley on Wednesday maintained that he wanted to see Amritsar as ‘charming city’ so that tourists love to stay here for a long time.
After two-week campaigning, Jaitley advocated infrastructure development, including health care facilities and promotion of tourism in the historic city in his campaign diary — Amritsar as I see it — on his blog.
“I have campaigned for over two weeks in Amritsar. It is unquestionably one of the most charming cities in India. My past experience of Amritsar has been as a visitor to my grandparents’ home. My subsequent experience has been as a political campaigner who was in-charge of the party campaign in various elections to the lok Sabha and the Assembly when I was headquartered at Amritsar,” he said.
listing out Amritsar’s historical and religious significance with Sri Harmandir Sahib, Durgiana Mandir, Jallianwala Bagh, Ram Tirath, Attari border and Gobindgarh Fort situated here, Jaitley claimed that the city has a huge ability to attract people.
“Tourism will always remain a mainstay economic activity in the city…I visualise Amritsar which is connected on all sides by large highways, a city where internal infrastructure needs to be hugely improved and where basic facilities need to be provided to a section of people,” he added.
He went on to point out that there were large sections which still require connectivity for water, sewage and proper roadways, while the projects under implementation need to be monitored and expedited.
“City’s heritage sites need to be preserved and strengthened….Greenery can add to its environment. Several old buildings such as Khalsa College need to be projected at the national level as a symbol of high quality education,” he said while sharing his agenda and viewpoint for the ‘holy city’, as well as his knowledge about the city in an apparent attempt to silence his critics who term him as an outsider.
He talked about establishment of food streets and a food village which opens into the late hour of the evening, that too a no traffic walkway that can reflect the personality of Amritsar.
This is not all! Jaitley has also suggested setting up of an AIIMS at Amritsar. “The promise of establishing an AIIMS in every State has to be materialised. Amritsar with a legacy of medical colleges could be an ideal location for AIIMS,” he said.
The social infrastructure of Amritsar requires multiple categories of health care -- both public and private, he added.Seeking better road, rail and air connectivity for development of tourism, he said, “Direct international flights are the need of the hour. A good airport needs to be better connected.”
He said that Amritsar’s economy primarily depends on tourism, industry and trade. “The main industrial activity has to be around creation of a textile cluster, agricultural implements industry, rice mills, embroidery, jewellery, decorative items and footwear. These clusters need to be supported by the State,” he added.