Kurali village passes resolution barring migrants
When HT visited the village on Wednesday, a few migrants were seen moving their belongings in response to the diktat
In a startling development, a village in Mohali’s Kurali passed a resolution barring migrants from residing in their village. Citing some ‘theft incidents’ in which, they claimed, children of the migrants were involved, at least 300 residents of Mundo Sangatiyan village, located about 45 minutes from Mohali city, signed a resolution stating that no migrants will be given a house on rent in the village.
A notice, signed by Nambardar Jagjit Singh, is being circulated in the village which read: “Those migrant families already residing in the village shall be given some time to leave.”
The village has a population of around 1,500, out of which 50 are migrants – most of them from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. At least 30 have been residing here for over 10 years and even have their Aadhar and voter cards registered on this address.
When HT visited the village on Wednesday, a few migrants were seen moving their belongings in response to the diktat.
Munni of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, who has been staying here for 15 years, said, “If anyone was found involved in any theft, that particular family must be ousted. Why are they targeting all migrants?”
“My two grandsons study in the nearby government school. My voter card is registered at this address, and I have worked here for a long time. Now, the shopkeepers here are not selling us ration. It’s a pressure tactic to get us to leave quickly,” she said.
Sarita, 30, another migrant, revealed that while she faced no pressure from her landlord, others in the village were mounting pressure on the landlord to get her family to leave.
Meanwhile, village sarpanch Jaspal Singh said, “The resolution was not passed or signed by any authorised person, including secretary or sarpanch. A few people got the resolution signed from members of the local gurdwara committee and asked other villagers to sign the paper. I tried to stop them but then the landlords themselves asked the migrants to leave. Many villagers are not in favour of this resolution.”
When police tried to intervene, gangster-turned-activist Lakha Sidhana came in support of villagers and held a meeting on Tuesday evening. A video which is being widely circulated on the social media purportedly shows Sidhana praising the villagers for the resolution.
When contacted, Mullanpur deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Dharmvir Singh said, “We have held several meetings with the villagers and the sarpanch. No one was assaulted or forced out of their house. We won’t allow anyone to be harmed.”
When asked if any action will be taken against the villagers who passed the resolution, Mohali deputy commissioner Aashika Jain said she has sought a report from the police on the matter.
