The MP today held a protest march with the members of Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal, demanding extension of the freight corridor till Attari. He vowed to raise the matter in the Parliament and also warned of taking out a padyatra (procession on foot) till the PM’s residence in Delhi if nothing was done in this regard.

Armed with black placards bearing messages ‘Save Amritsar’ and ‘Save Industry’, Sidhu, accompanied by city-based industrialists, marched till the residence of Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu and handed him a memorandum addressed to the President of India.

“The residents and industrialists of Majha region trusted Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who is a son of the Holy City, but the PM has virtually failed to meet their expectations,” said Sidhu, while addressing a gathering.

“Every time a proposal benefiting Punjab comes up, Amritsar is given step-motherly treatment. This is regardless of the fact that the residents of the border district have borne the brunt of various wars with the neighbouring country and also faced terrorism. But our sacrifices end up being forgotten,” he said.

He added that the disturbed area notification should be lifted to boost trade and industry here. “We want the industrial and freight corridor till Attari,” he demanded.

Sidhu added that extension of the corridor would give a fillip to the sagging industry of the border areas of Punjab, besides boosting Indo-Pak trade. “It will project Amritsar as a gateway for trade with Pakistan, Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries,” said Sidhu.