With 95% of the country?s woollen industry, 70% of the country?s cycle and cycle parts manufacturing and 30% of the country?s cotton industry, not to miss out on the largest number of ?Mercs? in the country ? thriving on its spirit of entrepreneurship Ludhiana from a small business centre has become ?Manchester of India?
The city has also witnessed a real estate boom in the last five years and there are proposals of multi-use industrial parks to be developed in Ludhiana, including an Integral Textile Park. On one hand Ludhiana boasts of lavish bungalows and on the other, it has large number of slums. The city has many tales of flamboyant lifestyles of its residents and Mercedes have found ample space in the hearts of the people of Ludhiana, even as the city has the worst traffic snarls in Punjab.
Report card
The poll fever is now catching up and the main tussle is between Manish Tewari of Congress and Gurcharan Singh Galib of SAD-BJP alliance. Interestingly Galib, senior Vice President of Punjab State Congress, resigned from the party to join the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and he was immediately rewarded with nomination for Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat. The SAD had been wooing him and finally managed to get him.
Muslim votes may prove crucial in this constituency as the city has around1.5 lakh Muslim community. Besides, the city has accommodated over two lakh migrants who can play a crucial role in these elections.
However, poor infrastructure, high environmental pollution, traffic congestion, shortage of teachers and doctors are some of the unsolved local issues which are likely to dominate the elections over promises and votebanks.The shortage of skilled labour is also an issue for the industry here, as a large number of workers from UP, Bihar and other states have gone back to their states.
The two major contenders are counting each others? losses, as they strive hard to woo the common man.
Infrastructure Development
Water and health
Heavy metal concentration in underground and surface water is prevalent. Buddha Nallah, the black, stinking canal that runs through the middle of the city, is a glaring example of water pollution. The discharge of industrial waste into the nallah which meets and pollutes the Sutlej River has been causing health hazards. The city has witnessed phenomenal growth of charitable hospitals and private nursing homes with super-speciality facilities.
Transportation
A 62 km Ring Road in Ludhiana in BOT Mode is in the pipeline at an estimated cost of Rs 1516 crore. The project is facing delay and involves land acquisition of about 1,000 acre and time schedule of three years for its completion. The much-hyped Dedicated Freight Corridor will be extended till Ludhiana. Under this project the eastern corridor from Ludhiana to Sonnagar in Phase-I is of 1,279 km. The 112-kilometre Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link project entailing an investment of Rs 566-crore is expected to see completion by 2010.
Industry
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has set up an industrial cluster here which has helped the small scale industries to cut down their inventory cost and wastage. United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has also developed a master plan for tourism development in Punjab and has identified potential destinations and circuits, such as Ludhiana. The Punjab government has approved the master plan for a projected population of 48 lakh by 2021 for Ludhiana
Education
The city houses the largest agriculture university in Asia and many technical colleges
My Voice
GS Dua Coordinator GGIMT
The city needs a central university and institutes like IIM. Punjab University should open a regional centre. Nothing has been done to upgrade the standard of education in the past. There is acute shortage of teaching staff and the state government is not able to pay the salaries to teachers. There is definitely a need to spend more funds on education sector.
Dr Ravindra Vatsayayan Chief Consultant Sanjeevani hospital
There is an acute shortage of staff at the government civil hospital and government dispensaries are in a bad shape. The health sector is dominated by the corporate sector which is not within the means of the common man. Increase expenditure on the healthcare sector.
Charanjit Singh Vishkarma President United Cycle & Parts Manufacturers Association
The infrastructure of the city has not been upgraded. We need a candidate who can represent Ludhiana in Lok Sabha prominently so that modernisation can be ushered in.