Punjab has a turbulent history... we know how to handle this crisis: Manpreet Singh Badal | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Punjab has a turbulent history... we know how to handle this crisis: Manpreet Singh Badal

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | BySunetra Choudhury
Apr 30, 2020 02:45 AM IST

Manpreet Singh Badal said Punjab has had a culture of langars [community kitchens] and feeding people. So that is not a problem. Most of the migrant labour is also seasonal and come for the paddy transplant season.

Punjab on Wednesday announced the extension of the lockdown imposed to check the Covid-19 spread until May 17. Manpreet Singh Badal, the state’s finance minister, spoke to Sunetra Choudhury about it. Edited excerpts:

Why have you extended the lockdown and how will it work?

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...Punjab has a very large immigrant population and most of them are settled in the first world, which is currently the hotspot of the infection. We were aware of this and we had anything from 70,000-90,000 NRIs [non-resident Indians] visiting their families. We were aware that Punjab could be the troubled spot. So we went for a lockdown before others... At the same time, we are aware that economic activity has to start and we have allowed construction activities to go ahead in rural areas. ... 90% of India’s bicycles, 60% of India’s tractors, 90% of India’s hosiery are produced in Punjab. So we have also allowed the industrial activity to start as long as they can ensure the transportation of labour or the labour can actually be housed within the premises of factories. We are into the harvesting season of wheat and we supply large parts of India’s surpluses. Luckily for us, harvesting wheat is 99% mechanical...

Have you ever played chess? There are 32 pieces in a chess game but there are a billion moves that you can play as long as you know how to play. Culturally and historically, Punjab has a very turbulent history... we have been through very turbulent times and we know how to handle this crisis. We know a billion moves, we will try each one of them and hopefully, something will work.

How are you responding to the migrant crisis?

Punjab has had a culture of langars [community kitchens] and feeding people. So that is not a problem. Most of the migrant labour is also seasonal and come for the paddy transplant season. So we have plan B ready in case we cannot get migrant labour. Before Punjab was forced to become a rice-growing state, we were a major state in cotton production. We are trying to shift a lot of areas from rice to cotton cultivation. And we also will be experimenting with the seeding of rice mechanically. Hopefully, we will be able to overcome the problem of migrant labourers not coming.

Are your people being stuck abroad a concern?

Our immediate concern was the pilgrims stranded in Nanded in Maharashtra and some of them have tested positive. We have sent government buses to fetch them. We are also concerned about students stuck in Kota and other places. There is pressure on the government to get them back. ...we need our kids back. Punjab has had 330 [Covid-19] cases and it started with the NRIs. I am not blaming them...

How are the people likely to react to the lockdown extension?

...Punjab is an agricultural powerhouse... those [agricultural] operations are going unimpeded. We have allowed industry and construction activity to start which leaves very little workforce which is not involved in some meaningful activity. Obviously, there are challenges like keeping people at home and away from depression. Second is to get money and food into their houses. The third is trying to move the wheels of the economy and fourth is to try to get some scientific solution so that this can be permanently done away with. So, we are fighting on four fronts. It is a crisis like this that brings out the character of nations and individuals. Every generation has gone through some kind of suffering. So, we are not the first and would not be the last. This also gives an opportunity to Punjab... farmers will have to work in their fields now that there are no migrant labourers. I am happy about that. The entire drug trade supply chain has been broken. We were sitting on two lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains and this is being transported out of Punjab.

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