12 Maha-returned cotton workers test positive in SBS Nagar

SBSNAGAR: Punjab’s cotton workers, who were stranded in Maharashtra due to the lockdown and returned with Nanded pilgrims to Punjab, tested positive for coronavirus infection in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar.

A total of 12 cotton workers of Balachaur and Nawanshahr tested positive on Sunday.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Brig Raj Kumar from Balachaur area in Punjab posted a status on his Facebook on April 23 that Balachaur area youths stranded in Maharashtra and different area of Southern states who went there to work in cotton factory can go to Nanded Sahib. He said Shiromani Akali Dal will bring them back.

Around 1,500 men from Balachaur go to the southern states to work in cotton farms for the seasonal job in the cotton factories. As many 50 odd persons came along with Nanded pilgrims to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar out of which 12 tested positive for the coronavirus. The number of positive cases in Punjab is 1,149.