Ravi Dhaliwal
The lack of industry and jobs have been the bane of the Sri Hargobindpur Assembly (reserved) segment for long. The interesting thing to note is that just 30 km away is Batala, where more than 1,200 industrial units, big and small, are located. However, in Sri Hargobindpur, the figure barely reaches 10.
The uneven industrial development in the region and lack of job opportunities are manifested in different ways. Some youths have planned to go abroad, while some, unfortunately, have hooked on to drugs. “An idle mind is a devil’s workshop,” says Congress MLA Balwinder Laddi. Ask residents and they say the segment lags on the health front. “The constituency badly needs a 50-bed government hospital,” said Jaswant Singh, a city resident.
Locals’ key demands
- Industrial development
- 50-bed government hospital
- Speedy work on new bus stand
- Bus service to Chandigarh
Past trend
Before Balwinder Laddi of the Congress won the reserved Assembly seat in the 2017 poll, the SAD had a decent run, winning nine out of 10 elections. It was the CPI which broke the SAD’s run when its candidate Gurnam Singh won in 1992.
Electorate strength
Total voters: 1,61,235
Male: 84,446
Female: 76,787
Third gender: 2
Sri Hargobindpur — Missing links: Industry, jobs
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