Over 200 Punjabis stranded in Iraq: Govt

The Punjab Government today submitted a detailed report of more than 200 Punjabis stranded in strife torn Iraq to the External Affairs Ministry.
Till today evening more than 200 families had contacted the control room for giving details about their relatives. Yesterday around 50 Punjabi families had approached the control room, NRI Affairs Minister Tota Singh said in a statement here.
Punjabis in Iraq are safe but the Central Government should arrange for their safe exit as soon as possible because conditions in Iraq are worsening day by day, he added.
Singh said that Punjabis who contacted control room from Iraq informed that they are safe their but want to return to India therefore Union Government should speed up the efforts for their safe evacuation from Iraq.

The minister said that some Punjabis from Iraq have also provided information about their whereabouts in Iraq which is being sent to the Union External Affairs Ministry.
Control room numbers are regularly being flashed on the various TV channels and social media and internet sites are also helpful in spreading the information of control room numbers, he added.
Meanwhile, senior officials from the Punjab Government are coordinating with the External Affairs Ministry and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is in regular touch with Sushma Swaraj for safe return of Punjabis from Iraq.
He said that total information collected by the control room includes; 22 persons from Gurdaspur, 7 from SBS Nagar, 29 from Jalandhar, 6 from Patiala, 13 from Hoshiarpur, 28 from Kapurthala, 9 from Ludhiana, 3 from Barnala, 34 from Ropar, 5 from Pathankot, 12 from Fatehgarh Sahib, 23 from Amritsar, 1 from Bathinda, 1 from Moga, 5 from SAS Nagar, and 1 from Tarn Taran district.