Reaffirming his government’s commitment to cracking down on fraudulent travel agents, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered a blueprint to be prepared for opening Foreign Employment Bureaus in areas from where the maximum number of people were found to be migrating from Punjab to the UK.The Bureaus would be tasked with creating awareness among the people about the opportunities available in various countries based on their educational qualifications. They would also apprise the people of ways and means to upgrade their skills to facilitate their legal migration into the UK, said the Chief Minister.The Chief Minister’s directive came during a meeting with Andrew Ayre, British Deputy High Commissioner, and Sharan Ghuman, National Community Engagement Lead – India, Immigration Enforcement Department in the UK Home Office. The delegation had called upon the Chief Minister to discuss the problem of illegal immigrants from Punjab in the UK, according to an official spokesperson.When people are informed about the consequences of illegal immigration, they would get discouraged from taking the illegal route to shift to UK and other countries, said the Chief Minister. ACS Home said the best way to stop illegal migration was to help people go abroad through legal methods by providing legal assistance.
Responding to concerns expressed by the delegation on the plight of such immigrants, especially women abandoned by their husbands or being exploited in UK, the Chief Minister assured his government’s full support to such women to facilitate their return home. Such women were free to come back to Punjab and his government had not imposed any restrictions on their return, he added.Captain Amarinder appreciated the efforts being made by UK Friends of Unique Home, supported by the British High Commission, to send such women and other illegal immigrants, particularly homeless elderly people, back to Punjab with full respect. Sharan told the Chief Minister said that there were many such people wanting to come back but did not return out of fear. She sought the Chief Minister’s assistance in ensuring their safe return, to which Captain Amarinder said his government was addressing the problem on priority. She added that the sense of fear that had prevailed under the previous regime, thus discouraging the return of illegal immigrants, had dissipated with the installation of the Congress government in Punjab.Sharan also urged the Punjab Government to start some orientation and skill training programmes for those seeking to immigrate, to enable them to get gainful employment in UK. Ayre also stressed the need to empower the people with the necessary skills for taking up opportunities to work legally in UK.