DW BUREAU / chandigarh Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday lauded people of Punjab for good show in agriculture, trade and industry sectors despite a tough year due the coronavirus pandemic. He also made particular mention of all frontline workers, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and police, who helped protect people. The CM, however, warned that the pandemic is not over yet and urged people to continue to take care of themselves and their families, according to a statement.Singh greeted people on New Year with hopes and prayers of early resolution of problems of farmers protesting against the Centre's farm laws. In his message on the first day of the New Year, Singh while hoping for freedom from the pandemic, appealed to all Punjabis to continue to exercise caution and restraint amid the outbreak of a new strain of COVID in parts of the world. Congratulating farmers for continuing to exercise their democratic and constitutional right to protest in a peaceful manner, the chief minister said they have won hearts of people worldwide with their behaviour. "Not a single instance of rioting or violence was resorted to by the agitating farmers earlier during their protest in Punjab, and now at the Delhi borders," he said. In a tough year, marked by the COVID crisis since March 22, followed by a prolonged farmers' fight for justice, the state has witnessed record production of wheat and rice, he added. In fact, Punjabis have continued to do their duties unwaveringly with full commitment and courage, on all fronts even in these trying conditions, he said. He also cited examples of trade and industry, which according to him has revived successfully "due to the hard work of Punjabis after facing total shutdown for several months." "All 2,40,000 industrial units in Ludhiana are now open," he noted. Stressing that "the world is recognising the accomplishments of Punjab", the chief minister said this underlined the appreciation for Punjabis' bravery, the state's success in controlling COVID "and the fact that it was free of any law and order problem." "It is important to ensure that investment and industry keeps coming into the state for the generation of employment for our children so that they do not go out of Punjab for jobs," he added. Singh noted that in the modern electronic age, where communication was critical to progress and speed was of essence, Punjab could not afford to lag behind and needed to move forward with aggression. He expressed hope that 2021 will see a new era of progress being ushered into the state, with the problems of the farmers being quickly solved. Singh asserted that the Congress government in the state will do everything in its power to push development and resolve any other issues facing the state. He said he felt blessed to be an important part of the auspicious occasions of the historic Prakash Parvs of various Sikh Gurus for the second time in his life. In his previous term as chief minister, he had led various historic religious celebrations, he said. Meanwhile, on the Centre's directive, Punjab and Haryana will conduct a dry run for COVID-19 vaccination on Saturday. The Centre had said a dry run will be conducted by all state and union territories on January 2 to test the linkages between planning and implementation, and to identify the challenges. The Punjab government will conduct the drive in Patiala on January 2 and 3, state Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said in a statement here. He said as per the Centre's guidelines, Punjab has selected Patiala district where the dry run will be conducted at Government Medical College; Sadhbhavna Hospital; and the Community Health Centre in Shatrana. The UNDP and WHO will be supporting the drive, he said. In Haryana, the dry run will be held in Panchkula, state's Director General (Health Services) Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj told PTI. The drive will be held at three sites, officials said. For each of the three sites, the medical officer in-charge will identify 25 beneficiaries (healthcare workers), the Centre had said. The states and UTs have been asked to ensure that the data of beneficiaries is uploaded on Co-WIN, an online platform for monitoring the delivery of the vaccine. (editor@dailyworld.in)