Punjabi NRIs Pushing Developments Across Punjab

Daulatpur, a census town in Nawanshahr district in the state of Punjab has certainly undergone a paradigm shift in recent years. Today, it has a school, a stadium, gymnasium, and an array of other required facilities. This all has been made possible because of a US based NRI, Kehar Singh Thandi.

Thandi, 65, returned back to roots after spending years of employment in US and Canada. His efforts to collect funds from NRIs for his village’s development are commendable enough that show his devotion towards his motherland.

A number of villages across Punjab are receiving economic contributions from NRIs. Indeed, the developments brought by these people are really admirable.

Such an attitude of NRIs towards their ancestral villages has given new hopes to the people here. Now there will be proper drains, good network of roads, lighting, and other facilities that were earlier just a dream for the residents here, says Samarjit Singh, a villager.

The partnership between the Punjab and NRIs has brought in more potential in construction activities here.

Earlier, the funds that were coming from NRIs was usually spent ion the religious activities like construction of Temples and Gurudwaras. The government then decided to partner with the NRIs on 50-50 matching grant basis and is developing villages, says Bhawana Garg, Deputy Commissioner, Nawanshahr.

These developments are contributing a lot in abridging the gap between rural and urban areas in Punjab. The final credit undoubtedly goes to the investments made by NRIs who are always trying to replicate those standards back in their hometowns.

Photo: Village house in Punjab, Pakistan by Abubakarayyaz, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.