Over 20,000 youths from Punjab attempt illegal migration every year to 57 different countries. The trend is also spreading to the neighbouring states of Haryana,Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir,says a report Smuggling of Migrants from India to Europe and in particular to UK from Punjab and Haryana released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The report,released on Thursday,says forged visas of 41 countries are being used,and many instances of forged visas for Italy,Greece,France,Spain and UK have come to light. Over one lakh Punjabi youths are behind bars in foreign countries and face deportation. In the last one year,20 countries have approached the Indian government to deport 1,195 Punjabi youths,with Ukraine topping the list with 282 persons,adds the report. While illegal migration is reported from Jalandhar,Hoshiarpur,Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts of Punjab,in Haryana such cases are witnessed in Ambala,Kurukshetra,Karnal and Kaithal. As per the report,the reasons for illegal migration are varied: high unemployment rate,general attitude of youth that migration is the best alternative,potential illegal migrants consider other successful migrants their role models,and illegal migration not being a stigma amongst families. While illegal migrants have attempted to go to 57 destination countries,almost half (47 per cent) of the illegal migration cases relate to destination countries in Europe,says the report,recommending an independent legislation to check migrant smuggling. Punjab Chief Secretary S C Aggarwal,releasing the report,said the Punjab government had already taken stringent legal steps to check illegal migration,and drafted a legislation the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act,2010 which awaited the Centres approval.
