NRI youth from UK to visit Pb as part of govt scheme

As a part of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's endeavour to connect youngsters settled abroad with the motherland of their forefathers under the 'Connect to Your Roots (CYR)' scheme, the first batch of NRI boys and girls from UK would visit Punjab from August 6 to 17.

Sharing these details, Principal Secretary (NRI Affairs) SR Ladhar in an official release said ten youngsters aged between 16 and 22 years would come to Punjab.

Preference would be given to youth visiting Punjab for the first time but those who have visited earlier may also apply, he said.

Ladhar said the state government would bear the expenditure regarding boarding and lodging of these youngsters.

The official said the Punjab government had appointed UK based NRI Varinder Singh Khera as local coordinator for the CYR scheme.

Khera had been asked to furnish all details regarding the visiting group by June 30, Ladhar said.

The group would be taken to Sri Harmandir Sahib, Jallianwala Bagh, Wagah Border and War Memorial at Amritsar, Jang-e-Azadi Memorial, Kartarpur (Jalandhar), Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Memorial, Banga, Khalsa Heritage Complex Anandpur Sahib, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Punjab Civil Secretariat, Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh besides stay in their ancestral village for a day or two, the official said.

The youngsters would be attending Independence Day celebrations at one of the district headquarters as part of program, he added.

The group would be entertained with traditional Punjabi cuisine and delicacies, he said adding that depending upon the availability of the time, the youth may also be taken to the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Bhakra Dam, Nangal, one or two Industrial hubs of the state etc.

Punjab government's unique 'Connect with your roots' (CYR) programme was launched from London in September, 2017 by Chief Minister Singh.