SIRHIND, PUNJAB: Former Punjab Congress MLA and senior political leader Kuljit Singh Nagra has raised serious concerns over the growing crisis confronting Sirhind’s truck and bus body manufacturing industry, warning that the livelihoods of thousands of families dependent on the sector are at stake.
Nagra said Sirhind has long been recognized as a major centre for truck and bus body manufacturing, with the industry supporting a vast network of skilled and unskilled workers. Welders, painters, mechanics, electricians, drivers, spare-parts dealers and numerous other workers depend directly or indirectly on the sector for their livelihoods.
According to Nagra, the present crisis has placed considerable economic pressure on workers and their families. He criticized the Punjab government for what he described as a failure to protect an established employment-generating industry while simultaneously making repeated claims about creating jobs for the state’s youth.
“The government cannot speak about employment on one hand while allowing an existing employment hub to struggle on the other,” Nagra said, arguing that the situation represents a serious contradiction in the government’s employment policy.
Nagra appealed to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Punjab government to immediately engage with truck and bus body manufacturers, workers and other stakeholders to understand the problems confronting the industry and find practical solutions.
He stressed that protecting the industry should not mean compromising rules or regulations. Instead, he called for a balanced approach under which legitimate regulatory requirements are enforced while ensuring that genuine businesses and workers are not pushed towards economic collapse.
The body-building sector has developed over decades and has become an important part of Sirhind’s local economy. Any disruption to the industry, Nagra maintained, has consequences extending well beyond individual workshops because numerous ancillary businesses and workers depend upon it.
Nagra demanded immediate government intervention and dialogue with representatives of the industry, emphasizing that workers need concrete measures to protect their livelihoods rather than assurances or political speeches.
He said he stood firmly with the hardworking people associated with Sirhind’s body-building industry and urged the government to act before the crisis causes further economic hardship to thousands of families.
Punjab Outlook — News Report