''I would try and bring a hi-tech 'Media & Film City' in Chandigarh, if voted to power' shared Kirron Kher, BJP's Lok Sabha Candidate from Chandigarh while addressing a session on 'Chandigarh Votes: Aspirations' organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) & Yi Tricity Chandigarh Chapter at its Northern Region Headquarters in Sector-31 A on Apr.04, 2014.
''Chandigarh has tremendous untapped potential as a Film city to cater to the Punjabi and Bollywood film industry. Presently, the directors have to go all across to Mumbai to get Sound mixing, editing, dubbing and other processes done to get the final output. If we have a proper full-fledged film city here, it would save the directors from a lot of transportation costs and booking troubles. Further, it will boost Chandigarh’s economy by creating huge employment as also will bring Chandigarh on national and global map as a preferred filming and shooting destination'', she emphasised.
Sharing her vision for the city, she informed that she would work to ''Retain the old character and beauty of Chandigarh and add modern technology, economic advancement and eco-friendly industries to it''.
A lot of slums have come up in the city which needs to be rehabilitated. Further, City's sewerage system has turned old, drinking water supply is from one canal. Hence, we need to re-plan this town’s infrastructure by linking pipelines, establishing new sewerage disposal systems and rehabilitating the slum population in a planned manner.
''Chandigarh being of a land locked nature, we would need to boost services sector like healthcare, education, IT & ITeS, Banking, telecom, hospitality etc and light manufacturing here. Further, I would also like to focus pro-actively on vocational education, especially of the underprivileged and strive to bridge the huge skill gaps existing in the tricity, so that industry and services sector get their desired workforce from the city itself and employment opportunities are multiplied as well'', she added.
''MSMEs are my top priority, because they are largely dependent on Administration's support and sound policies and impact lives of a huge population positively. I am well aware of the problems of the MSMEs here, due to the partial enactment of the MSMED Act, lack of funds and other procedural bottlenecks. I promise to resolve these as also would try to get a 'Technology Development Fund’ for MSMEs, as requested by CII so that their competitiveness is enhanced. I would aim to boost the ancillary industry here which can service the large sector industry.
''Infrastructure is also a critical factor on which I would like to put a lot of thrust. Our city needs a lot of Under Passes, Underground and Multi level parking spaces, flyovers etc as the population would continually expand here'', she added.
Deliberating upon the status of health sector in the UT, she said, “The top health institutions like PGI, Sector 16 & 32 Hospitals are overburdened with patients from Himachal, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. To cater to the health needs of city’s patients, there is a dire need to develop primary and secondary healthcare services. This will also help in generating more employment for medical & paramedical students.”
''For Chandigarh, CII expects the new government to work towards development of this region as a Greater Chandigarh Region (GCR), removal of inter-state trade and travel barriers between Chandigarh-Panchkula-Mohali region, creation of conducive business environment for light manufacturing as well as services sector, supporting the MSMEs, implementing key policies, enhancing land/ air connectivity and focus on sustainable development of the city keeping its heritage and character alive'', said Darpan Kapoor, Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council.
''To spread awareness and motivate youth to vote, CII NR also organised a session with Mr Mohammed Shayin, Additional Chief Electoral Officer, UT Chandigarh at CII NR Headquarters'', shared Pikender Pal Singh, regional director, CII NR.
Shayin emphasized that ''If the youth wants a bright future, it is imperative for them to exercise their Right to Vote. In last elections, only 50 % of the youth population voted, we should all pledge to change the scenario this time.''
