Faridkot: The Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today said that the state government would soon set up two ultra modern Cancer diagnostic and Treatment centers at Amritsar and Patiala, for combating the menace of Cancer in an effective manner.

Addressing a mammoth gathering after inaugurating the North India’s first Single Emission Computed Tomography center here today at the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, the Chief Minister said that the state government was firmly committed for tackling the problem of this fatal disease in the state. He said that these centers would be equipped with the latest technology so as to impart the quality cancer treatment to the residents of the state. Mr. Badal further said that the state government had already transferred its prime land in Mullanpur near Chandigarh for the setting up of a world class cancer hospital on the lines of Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital adding that he had pleaded the Prime Minister to expedite the process of establishing this hospital in the state.

The Chief Minister further said that all out efforts were being made by the state government to provide quality cancer treatment to the patients suffering from this deadly disease. He also said that the state government was also mulling to send the Doctors of the state to foreign countries for getting specialized training of the cancer treatment, which would play a vanguard role in the state government’s crusade against the cancer in Punjab. Mr. Badal also said that realizing well that the treatment of this disease was very costly the state government has also constituted a ‘corpus fund’ to help the poor and needy patients.

Exhorting the Baba Farid Medical Sciences University to play an effective role in providing Medical facilities to the people through Research and Development (R&D), the Chief Minister said that it was the need of the hour in the larger interest of the public. He said that the University must start a pilot project by adopting five villages of the district to make these villages disease free. Mr. Badal said that this project must be replicated to other districts for making a ‘Healthy and Hygienic Punjab’. 

Terming the true federal structure as the panacea of all the ills faced by the country, the Chief Minister said that the successive Congress governments at the center have turned the political structure of country into unitary form by usurping the powers of the states. He said that the net result of this was that the states have been reduced to the position of mere beggars who were at the mercy of the centre to seek funds for the development. Mr. Badal said that this has resulted in lop sided development of the country due to which regional disparities had taken place in the country.

The Chief Minister said that it was unfortunate that the framers of the policies in the country were not aware about the ground realities owing to which the pangs of the common man had increased manifolds. Underscoring the need for the enacting the uniform need based policies for the balanced growth of the nation; Mr. Badal said that it would go a long way in the holistic development of the country. However the Chief Minister said that it was not possible under the regime of the Congress led UPA government. He said that due to the wrong misrule of the successive Congress governments at the centre, the country was confronting a large number of social maladies like unemployment, illiteracy, poverty and starvation. Mr. Badal said that the only solution to get rid of these problems was the formation of the NDA government at the centre after the coming Lok Sabha polls. “The countrymen are fed up from the wrong policies of the UPA and I am sure that they would show a door to the Congress thereby paving way for the formation of NDA government at centre” he added.   

Earlier paying floral tributes Baba Sheikh Farid on his Aagman purab here today, the Chief Minister described him as one of the greatest spiritual ambassadors, poet prophet and founder of ‘Sufi’ tradition in India. Mr. Badal said that Baba Farid ji was the father of Punjabi poetry and his philosophy of humanism and spirituality based on the principles of love, compassion, equality, humility, brotherhood and freedom reigned supreme and was all pervasive. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Mrs. Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mr. Mantar Singh Brar, MLA Mr. Deep Malhotra, his Special Principal Secretary Mr. KJS Cheema and Vice Chancellor of Baba Farid Medical Sciences University Dr. SS Gill.