Mohali (Punjab), May 3 (IANS): Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Friday said his party's previous government was instrumental in developing the Greater Mohali area that was set to eclipse Gurugram, besides creating world-class education and research facilities and a thriving information technology sector.

During his 'Punjab Bachao Yatra' in Kharar and Mohali Assembly constituencies, the SAD President also appealed to the people to vote for his part to pave the way for expansion of the Greater Mohali area into a metropolis which would further augment employment and generate revenue for the state.

Badal, who was accompanied by the party’s Sri Anandpur Sahib candidate Prem Singh Chandumajra, interacted with people across both constituencies and thanked the people for welcoming the Punjab Bachao Yatra.

"This is also a reward for the party which has developed Mohali from a sleepy town into a bustling city which is growing by the day," he said, adding that the SAD had not only planned the orderly and scientific expansion of Mohali and Kharar towns but had also created world-class infrastructure and institutions.

Asserting that the international airport established in Mohali by the previous SAD government had resulted in the speedy development of Mohali and resulted in an increase in commerce besides connectivity with the outside world, Badal said that the IT sector has also taken ground in Mohali due to the airport.

He also said that he had himself persuaded industry heads to establish the Indian School of Business in Mohali while adding the previous SAD governments were behind the establishment of the world-famous IISER and the Institute of Nano Science and Technology in Mohali.