Harsimrat Badal appeals to Railway Ministry to bring stranded passengers in Nanded

Chandigadh (Media Bureau) Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said on Twitter today that Sikh pilgrims stranded at Hazoor Sahib in Nanded, Maharashtra have been allowed to return home. Harsimrat said she spoke to Maharashtra Chief Secretary in this regard and he assured her that directions in this regard have been issued.“I am grateful to the combined efforts of governments who acceded to the plea of the stranded devotees,” she said.Earlier, she had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ask the Ministry of Railways to run special trains to repatriate the pilgrims stranded at Hazur Sahib and at Patna Sahib in Bihar.

In a letter to the Prime Minister on April 12, the Union Minister stated that more than 5,000 Sikh pilgrims from Punjab were stranded at Gurdwara Hazur Sahib and at Gurdwara Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Bihar since the beginning of the lockdown last month. “These pilgrims have been away from their families for more than a month and have been surviving on the food and shelter provided by the gurdwaras. Many of them are accompanied by young children and elderly parents… With the wheat harvesting season starting on April 15, it is important for these people to come back to Punjab,” she wrote. Harsimrat said that the pilgrims have already been in quarantine for more than three weeks.

“However, to be safe, they may be scanned again and those not showing any symptoms may be cleared for going back. The Ministry of Railways may be requested to run special trains from Nanded, Maharashtra (for 3,000 people approximately) and Patna, Bihar 2,000 passengers approximately to bring these pilgrims to Punjab,” she said. “The state government of Punjab may be directed to make arrangements for their dispersal to their hometowns after due scanning and if required, they make be asked to stay in quarantine in their respective villages,” the minister added.