Ludhiana (Punjab): Amid large-scale rescue efforts currently ongoing in the quake-hit Turkey and Syria where the death toll has reached the 34,000 mark, the tension keeps parallelly mounting in six households in Punjab.
Claiming a group of six youths from their households was promised to be led to countries such as Syria and Italy by travel agents in exchange for hefty sums, their family members reached Ludhiana on Tuesday to relay worries to former union minister and Samajwadi Party leader Balwant Singh Ramoowalia as well as other social welfare organizations.
The six have been identified as Gurwinder Singh from Ludhiana, Navjot Singh from Amritsar, Lavjit Singh from Patiala, Gurpreet Singh from Bhagaran, Dharampal Singh from Karnal, Haryana and Buta Singh from Himachal Pradesh's Solan. Speaking to the press about their grievances, the families observed that the last time the group was heard from was in 2019.
"They (travel agents) promised to take my son Gurvinder to Turkey back in 2017. For this, they took Rs 5 lakh at the time. He was 30 when he left home, and I have not heard from him ever since we spoke last on November 19, 2017. I appeal to the Central Government to trace him," she said.
A similar ordeal was narrated by Baljinder Singh, father of Navjot Singh, who he says was roped in by the fraudulent travel agents, who promised him job opportunities in Italy. "He was charged 6000 Euros for this. Since then, we have lost all contact. I eventually filed a case, which is still going on. I have appealed to Ramoowalia saab to arrange for their safe return home," he notes.
The latter, when spoken to, however blamed the incident on the existing system of governance. "Neither the Shiromani Akali Dal governments, nor the present Jathedar of the Sri Akal Takht Sahib, have done anything for the young generation in Punjab. Young boys and girls are being trafficked. The fraudulent travel agents have no fear of the government," the SP leader noted.
Meanwhile, Rahul Chaba, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) of Ludhiana said administrative action was being already taken to rectify the issue. "We have issued notices to all travel agents to complete their documentation. At the same time, we would also like to appeal to people that they only approach licensed travel agents," he said, further adding that even though he joined the current rank in 2021, he is sure any such old cases would definitely be getting the police's attention.
