Stadium in memory of children killed in accident: Sukhbir Badal
Amritsar - Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the state government will build a stadium in memory of seven school children who died after their bus fell into a canal in Muhawa village on Tuesday. "The stadium will be built at cost of Rs 20 lakh in Muhawa and the village school will be upgraded to senior secondary level," he said at a seminar here to commemorate Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary . Sukhbir directed the district administration to send Karanbir Singh's name for the national bravery award for saving lives of many children in the accident. The public works department was also directed to increase width of guard rails by one and a half feet at bridges prone to such accidents. The Deputy CM claimed Punjab was the only state that had implemented Ambedkar's ideologies in their true spirit. "The World Kabaddi Cup due in November will be christened as Dr Ambedkar World Kabaddi Cup. Besides, 2600 free medicine shops will also be named after Ambedkar," he said. Subjects on the life and philosophy of the great personalities, including Ambedkar, would be made compulsory in Punjab universities to enable the young generation to adopt their ideals for personality development, Sukhbir said. "Punjab carries forward the proud legacy of secularism, therefore people live peacefully and have equal respect for each other and every religion," he said. Asking people to follow Ambedkar's ideas, he said Punjab would be a role model in this aspect. Addressing the gathering, Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi said following the footsteps of Ambedkar can change the country. People should take inspiration from the lives of gurus, saints and great people, and develop their personality and character, Bedi said. "The youth should focus on self education instead of 'Facebook' and devote majority of their time to acquire knowledge and to sports, she said. Bedi asked people to be a part of Swachh Bharat campaign and focus on keeping the environment clean. Punjab Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal said the ideals of Ambedkar are relevant even today as they were 70 years ago. "It was a Herculean task to prepare the constitution of a diverse country like India, but Ambedkar accomplished it," he said.
