Porters in Attari will not be hurt by road trade, assures Punjab Govt

The Punjab Government today assured the porters working in the Attari railway station that their business would not be hurt with the opening of the trade through roads between India and Pakistan.

By Ravinder Singh Robin

Amritsar, Oct 1 : The Punjab Government today assured the porters working in the Attari railway station that their business would not be hurt with the opening of the trade through roads between India and Pakistan.

Bikram Singh Majithia, Minister of Information and Public Relations in the Punjab Government, termed such doubts as baseless, and added that trade via trucks would boost the economic activities at the Attari border, thereby increasing the income opportunities for porters.

Majithia said that trade by trucks would not only propel economic activities in Punjab but would also strengthen the State economy as vegetables and other products from the State could now be sent to global market.

The earlier routes to send products were Mumbai-Karachi route or the air route that cut in to the profits of the local traders making the trade unviable.

"This new venture initiated by Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, would prove to be a milestone in development of our economy. It would go a long way in propelling our economy on the road of prosperity," Majithia said.

He said that it has already been announced that licenses of existing porters at Attari border would not be cancelled and they would continue to work as earlier.

He said that in future the trade via trucks would not be restricted to Pakistan alone, as it would be expanded to market products in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Central Asia.

ANI