Punjabis in Israel seek Capt’s help in building gurdwara

A delegation of members of the Punjabi community in Israel on Thursday met chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to seek his help in securing permission from local authorities to hold religious functions and for procuring land for building a gurdwara.

Amarinder assured the delegation that he would ask India’s ambassador in Israel Pavan Kapoor to help them and advised them to meet the envoy. The CM also told the delegation that he had been informed by the embassy officials that the local administration had 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 youth seeking visas for travel to Israel. The CM told them that his government was already cracking down on such agents, with stringent guidelines having been issued to check their proliferation in the state. “I have directed officials to take strict action against agents found violating guidelines,” he said.

The Punjabi community members also spoke about the contribution of Indian soldiers, particularly the Sikhs, during the World War I, when many of them had laid down their lives to protect Israeli cities from enemy attacks. Amarinder recalled his visit to the Commonwealth Cemetery where he had paid tributes to the martyred Indian soldiers.

On last day of his Israel visit, the CM visited the Afikim dairy farm at Hof HaSharon to see first-hand the techniques being deployed to boost dairy farming quality.