{"id":29040,"date":"2026-03-24T14:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T08:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/?p=29040"},"modified":"2026-03-24T14:00:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T08:30:23","slug":"press-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/?p=29040","title":{"rendered":"PRESS STATEMENT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cOpen Wagah, Unlock Punjab \u2019s Future: Trade Revival Key to Jobs, Growth, and Peace\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) reiterates its firm and long-standing demand for the immediate resumption of cross-border trade through the Wagah Border, terming it essential for economic revival, regional cooperation, and lasting peace. The Party emphasizes that this is not merely an economic issue but a historical and strategic necessity for the people of Punjab.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reopening of trade between East Punjab and West Punjab will significantly benefit Punjab\u2019s farmers, who currently face limited market access, price volatility, and rising input costs. Access to a larger and nearby market will improve price realisation and reduce dependence on domestic mandis. Perishable commodities such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, and poultry will particularly benefit due to reduced transit time, leading to lower wastage and higher incomes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, stable export opportunities will encourage diversification into high-value crops such as horticulture, pulses, oilseeds, and organic produce, promoting sustainable farming practices and better resource management. Reduced transportation costs through direct land routes will further enhance farmers\u2019 profitability and global competitiveness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agro-industrial sector will also witness strong growth. Increased trade will drive expansion in food processing industries, including rice, dairy, and fruit processing, while boosting cold chain infrastructure such as storage facilities, grading units, and refrigerated transport. This will reduce post-harvest losses and enhance value addition across the agricultural supply chain.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Punjab\u2019s industrial and MSME sector stands to gain substantially from the reopening of the Wagah corridor. Industrial hubs such as Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Mohali will benefit from direct access to regional markets. Key sectors\u2014including textiles, auto components, sports goods, pharmaceuticals, and light engineering\u2014will experience improved export opportunities, reduced logistics costs, and faster turnaround times, thereby enhancing competitiveness and attracting new investment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reopening of trade will also strengthen the logistics and service sectors. Transporters, warehouse operators, customs agents, financial institutions, and insurance providers will benefit from increased trade volumes. Border regions, particularly in the Majha belt, are expected to emerge as key logistics hubs supported by infrastructure development such as integrated check posts, dry ports, and freight corridors.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, the revival of trade is expected to generate substantial employment, with estimates of 50,000 to 1,00,000 jobs across transportation, warehousing, agro-processing, manufacturing, and services. The multiplier effect will further boost employment in retail, hospitality, and allied sectors, particularly in border areas that have suffered economic decline.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Party also highlights the strategic importance of the Wagah route as a gateway to Afghanistan, Iran, and the wider Central Asia region, enabling access to a vast and largely untapped multi-country market.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expressing concern over the decline of the border economy, the Party notes that reduced activity at the Integrated Check Post has led to large-scale job losses among porters, transporters, and daily wage workers, severely impacting local livelihoods and MSMEs in districts such as Amritsar and Batala.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mobilise public support, Party President Simranjit Singh Mann has called for a \u201cBorder Open\u201d Rally at the Attari\u2013Wagah border on March 28, 2026. The Party urges farmers, traders, industrialists, and citizens to participate in large numbers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) believes that reopening trade through Wagah will create a broad-based economic transformation\u2014benefiting farmers, boosting industry, generating employment, and laying the foundation for long-term peace. The Party calls upon the Governments concerned to act with urgency and adopt a pragmatic, people-centric approach in reopening this vital trade corridor.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOpen Wagah, Unlock Punjab \u2019s Future: Trade Revival Key to Jobs, Growth, and Peace\u201d The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) reiterates its firm and long-standing demand for the immediate resumption of cross-border trade through the Wagah Border, terming it essential for economic revival, regional cooperation, and lasting peace. The Party emphasizes that this is not merely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-statement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29041,"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29040\/revisions\/29041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akalidalamritsar.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}