Unveiling a slew of development schemes for Sikhs, Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna has said that a Punjabi academy would soon be set up in the state and a panel to give suggestions on the matter would be constituted shortly.
Making the announcement at a function here to mark Gurpurb of Guru Nanak on Wednesday, Bahuguna said the state government believed in taking along all sections together, adding that a detailed report on a multi-crore project to promote tourism around the high-altitude Sikh shrine of Hemkund Sahib in Garhwal region had been sent to the Centre.

Vacancies for Punjabi teachers will also be filled soon, he said.

Of the four minority villages to be identified for carrying out development work on a priority basis under a state government scheme, at least one will be Sikh-dominated, he added.

Special schemes will also be launched for the development of Banjara Sikh and Rai Sikh communities, Bahuguna said.

An amount of Rs. 25 lakh each has been sanctioned for the two educational institutions being run by the Sikh community under the Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutes (IDMI) scheme, the chief minister said.

Two more such institutions, located in Udham Singh Nagar district, will also be brought under the ambit of this scheme, Bahuguna announced.