Punjabis in Israel seek Amarinder's help in building gurudwara

A delegation of Punjabis living in Israel on Thursday called on visiting Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to seek his help in procuring land for building a gurudwara in the Jewish nation.

The delegation also sought Singh's help in securing permission from local authorities to hold religious functions.

The chief minister assured them that he would ask India's Ambassador in Israel, Pavan Kapoor, to help them, and advised them to meet the envoy.

The chief minister, however, told the delegation that he had been informed by embassy officials that the local administration has very strict guidelines on these issues.

"The embassy will see what can be done," he said. The delegation also raised the issue of illegal agents fleecing Punjabi youths seeking visas for travel to Israel.

Singh said his government was already cracking down on such agents, with stringent guidelines having been issued to check their proliferation in the state.

The chief minister said he was aware and concerned about the issue and had directed officials to take strict action against agents found violating guidelines.

The Punjabi community also spoke about the contribution of Indian soldiers, particularly Sikhs, during World War I, when many of them had laid down their lives to protect Israeli cities from enemy attacks.

Singh recalled his visit to the Commonwealth Cemetery in the northern coastal city of Haifa on Tuesday where he paid tributes to Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the battle to liberate the city from Ottoman rule.

In the last official engagement of his five-day trip, the chief minister visited the Afikim Dairy Farm at Hof HaSharon, to see first-hand the techniques being deployed to boost dairy farming quality.

He discussed with officials the various varieties of fodder, as well as hygiene and care provided to the cattle at the farm.

He was informed that as against the normal average of 10 to 15 litres a day of milk production per cow, the average daily production of milk in the farm was 40 litres. The fat percentage in the milk is also much higher at 4 per cent, compared to 2.5 per cent in Punjab.

Israeli officials told Singh that hygienic and nutritious feed, as well as clean drinking water, was the key to higher milk production, with each cow being given about 120 litres of water every day.

Climate control is also maintained with all the sheds having solar operated fans, as well as fans with mist, they said.