The parents of reality singing contest winner Ishmeet Singh, who drowned in Maldives recently, were honoured here Friday by the Punjab government at a state-level function to mark the 62nd Independence Day of the country.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who unfurled the tri-colour here, presented a cheque of Rs.1.1 million, a citation and a shawl to Gurpinder Singh and Amritpal Kaur, the father and mother of Ishmeet Singh.

Nineteen-year-old Ishmeet, winner of the reality show "Voice of India", had drowned in the swimming pool of a beach resort in Maldives last month. He had gone there for a show.

The singer hailed from this industrial city of Punjab.

Addressing the gathering, Badal said that many basic amenities were still out of the reach of people in India 61 years after the country had attained independence.

The chief minister also announced the transfer of 42, 000 acre of cultivable land along the banks of rivers in the state to those who had been tilling this land for several years. The land will be transferred on nominal charges of Rs.1, 200 per acre, he announced.