Punjab to have special counter at IGI Airport to facilitate NRIs

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday announced to set up a special counter at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport to facilitate Punjabis, especially NRIs.

He said the government is starting a facilitation centre to enable the people to seek help for their relatives’ flights, connecting flights, taxi services, lost luggage facilities or any assistance required at the airport.

Officials said an agreement has been signed between the state government and GMR for setting up the facilitation centre to extend all possible help to NRIs and other passengers at the airport.

This centre will have cars which will be available to help the passengers in local movement at Punjab Bhawan and other nearby places, an official said.

In case of emergency, depending on the availability, some rooms at Punjab Bhawan in Delhi will be made available for the passengers or their relatives.

A round-the-clock helpline number (011-61232182) has been set up for assistance.

Punjabi diaspora is very vibrant and every year they travel to foreign countries in huge numbers, especially to Canada.

Punjabis make up approximately 2.6 per cent of the Canadian population as per the 2021 Canadian Census. The largest Punjabi community in Canada is in Ontario, with 397,867 Punjabis as of 2021 (making up 2.84 per cent of the overall population), while British Columbia is home to 6.41 per cent of the overall population.

Around 85 per cent of South Asians in British Columbia are Punjabi Sikhs, including former premier of British Columbia, Ujjal Dosanjh and leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP), MP for Burnaby South, Jagmeet Singh.