Over 1,300 Kashmiris, who were stuck in Punjab’s Pathankot and Batala, were sent home for Ramzan, an official statement said.
The decision was taken after these migrants reached out to the local officials in Punjab to raise their concern to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, following the J&K administration allowance. Migrants included shawl sellers, students and labourers.
According to The Wire’s report, 1,180 Kashmiris were sent from Pathankot district and 78 were released from Batala in the border district of Gurdaspur.
These migrants were stuck in cities of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand, after the Jammu & Kashmir administration had refused them entry in the union territory, due to the ongoing pandemic and lockdown.
Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta in the statement, said that the migrants were provided 24X7 support, proper lodging and food during their stay in nine quarantine facilities of Pathankot, along with required health checkups and supply of medicines.
Special Chief Secretary, Punjab, KBS Sidhu tweeted that all the migrants from relief camps at Pathankot have been repatriated to J&K.
Pathankot:All the Kashmiri labour, earlier housed in relief camps at Pathankot, have gradually been repatriated to Jammu and Kashmir.They had nothing but praise for the District Administration led by the Deputy Commissioner Gurpal Singh Khaira.Well done
— KBS Sidhu, IAS, Spl. Chief Secretary, Punjab. (@kbssidhu1961) April 22, 2020
The Kashmiri migrants expressed their gratitude towards the Punjab and the J&K government, after reaching home. They also stated their appreciation for Radha Soami Dera Beas and other organisations who helped them during this critical time, the statement said.
