British youth visit industrial city Ludhiana

Ludhiana: Youths from England visited the industrial city of Ludhiana under the 'Connect with your roots' program launched by the Punjab government.

The second batch of 16 Punjabi-origin youth is visiting the state from August 10 to 22. The group comprises eight boys and eight girls aged 13-25. While five members have been delegated as coordinators.

At Ludhiana, the delegation visited Hero Cycles and Monte Carlo. Saloni at Hero Bicycles and Ajay Thapar at Monte Carlo welcomed the delegation and shared information about their companies.

The delegation included Virender Singh Khaira, Surinder Kaur Khaira, Danveer Kaur Kaile, Harleen Kaur Khaira and other youths who came to Punjab for the first time and witnessed the rich culture, customs and affection here. They said that they were very happy to see the industrial growth here. They said that before their visit to Punjab, they had the impression that perhaps Punjab was the only agriculture-based state but they were happy to see its industrial development. They said that they would share this happiness with the Punjabis living abroad.

It is pertinent to mention here that the first delegation also arrived in Ludhiana last year and attended a state-level function in Ludhiana on Independence Day, which was chaired by Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh.

The young people arrived at Hero Cycles directly from Police Academy Phillaur, after which they visited the Monte Carlo hosiery factory. In the evening, the delegation returned to Jalandhar. The Punjab Government is also providing transportation facilities for these youth to the motherland, in addition to their living arrangements. They also have the program to visit different places of religious, cultural and historical significance in the state.

Apart from Ludhiana, the youths are visiting the important places of Chandigarh, Shri Fatehgarh, Sahib, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and District Amritsar Sahib and the places of their ancestors. While visiting the ancestral sites, they will meet family members, friends, parents and relatives of the elderly, giving them the opportunity to connect with their ancestors' roots.

It is also worth mentioning that Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh launched the 'Connect with your roots' program from London on September 2017. Under this scheme, efforts have been made to give young people of Indian origin, who have never visited the country, an opportunity to connect with their ancestral roots. The tour is being arranged by the Tourism and cultural department of the Punjab government.

During the visit of these youths to Ludhiana, an attempt was made to make them aware of the industrial development of Ludhiana city, especially Punjab. So that they can go to their present country to talk about the industrial development of Punjab. On this occasion, he was accompanied by Mr S.S. Raikhy from the District Industries Center and others.