Rural Punjab is witnessing Panchayats passing resolution to impose restrictions on migrants living in the area. Now, 10 Panchayats of Jalandhar have also joined the race.
An emergency meeting of local panchayats was convened in Daroli Kalan village near Adampur, Jalandhar. The meeting was called regarding migrant workers, and multiple decisions were also taken. Panchayats from several nearby villages participated in the meeting, and several resolutions were unanimously passed.
It was decided at the meeting that Aadhar cards and voter cards will not be issued to migrants. Those who already have their votes will be cancelled. Furthermore, no migrant will be allowed to roam around the village or at intersections at night.
The Panchayats also decided that migrants will not be given space or support for celebrating festivals within the villages. Furthermore, no villager will sell their property or house to migrants. If anyone does so, they will be held responsible.
Speaking on the occasion, Jathedar Manohar Singh said that another large meeting of 25 to 30 villages will be convened in the coming days to discuss further strategies for addressing issues related to migrant workers.
The issue has heated up allegedly after rape-murder of a five-year-old boy allegedly by a migrant worker in Hoshiarpur last week. The incident has sparked anger against migrants in Punjab. Panchayats in several villages have begun taking active steps to expel migrants from the area.
Notably, before 10 panchayats of Jalandhar, 2 village panchayats in Bathinda district passed controversial resolutions.
In Deepes panchayat village, members of the panchayat organized a protest against migrant workers heading in and declared that the outsiders would not be permitted to receive water or Aadhaar cards in the village. They instructed that laborers have to be kept close to tube well motors rather than residential areas, and instructed farmers who hire migrants to make sure their police verification is done.
Sarpanches of almost 20 panchayats in Hoshiarpur have also declared that they would no longer give residence verification certificates to migrants who came to settle in their villages.
The minor was sexually violated and strangled by suspected Nanke Yadav, a migrant, whose arrest had been made hours after the body of the child was recovered on September 10.