Captain to woo NRIs to restore heritage

In order to raise funds from the Punjabi-Americans, Amarinder said: ‘‘I would visit as many US cities as possible after the elections are over and it would surely help.’’

Secretary Tourism Romilla Dubey is candid when she admits that the state’s buildings of yore are crumbling but the government has no blue-print for their restoration. ‘‘Making a financial assessment of the restoration costs is a daunting task. Probably we would undertake work as per the money flow.’’ The government, she said, would also seek help from international bodies too.

Punjab’s earlier roadside show in Los Angeles had evoked interest among Punjabis, claims Amarinder Singh. ‘‘There was a lot of enthusiasm and promises — support worth Rs 75 lakh was pledged — but frankly I would believe only when the cheques start arriving.’’ he says sceptically.

Amarinder’s itinerary in the US is yet to be finalised. However, the CM sounds hopeful of making NRIs join the restoration work since ‘‘neither Punjab government nor Centre has money to spare for this work.’’

‘‘There is hardly any country in the world where Punjabis have not settled down,’’ says Amarinder.