Vancouver, Toronto to Amritsar flights petition gets overwhelming response
February 14, 2022: A delegation of FlyAmritsar Initiative met with Brad Vis, Canadian Member of Parliament for Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon region of British Columbia, to personally hand over petition letters signed by the community members for presenting them in Canada’s House of Commons. This petition was launched by Mohit Dhanju, Spokesperson for FlyAmritsar Initiative campaign in Canada and sponsored by MP Vis. The petition envisages to request the Government of Canada for proactively advocating the cause of direct flights between Vancouver/Toronto to Amritsar in India.
In a statement released to the press from Vancouver-Canada Anantdeep Singh Dhillon, Convener (North America) for FlyAmritsar Initiative appreciated the great support campaign received from Indian diaspora in Canada, and MP Vis along with his parliamentary caucus. It is heartening to note that the petition was signed by 14160 people online and around 5000 people signed the petition on paper within a short time span of 30 days.
MP Vis apprised the campaign delegation from Surrey and Abbotsford, comprising of Mohit Dhanju, Gurdev Singh Judge, Rajwant Singh Sandhu, Manjit Singh, Manveer Singh Grewal and Sukhdip Singh Aulakh that he will now be presenting the petition on the floor of the House and will ask the government for their reply on this issue. He further stated that he will be holding special meeting/s with Air Canada & other airlines to apprise them about the demand from his constituents & Canadians across the country about direct air links with Amritsar in Punjab. In a video released on his social media he said that he will be emphatically raising the issue of long pending demand from Punjabi diaspora living in Canada about direct flights between Vancouver/Toronto and Amritsar.
Dhanju while handing over the signed petition papers to MP Vis along with other community members thanked Punjabis across Canada for their valuable support for this cause and appreciated them for sparing their valuable time to sign this important petition.
On the other hand, FlyAmritsar Initiative Global Convener and Overseas Secretary of Amritsar Vikas Manch (NGO), Sameep Singh Gumtala and Anantdeep Singh Dhillon, while attending an online meeting with MP Vis over zoom have requested Canadian Members of Parliament across party lines to strongly support the long pending demand of the Punjabi Diaspora for better air connectivity with Punjab.
Gumtala requested the Canadian parliamentarians to take up this flights issue as a bi-partisan collective campaign. He detailed that our team has been constantly writing letters, giving presentation to various airlines including Air Canada, government authorities in Canada & India, as well as apprising the MP’s regarding this important demand of the community for the last many years. FlyAmritsar Initiative calls for a joint effort for this cause and supporting the campaign to make this air link possible, said Gumtala.
In a statement from Amritsar, Manmohan Singh Brar, Patron of Amritsar Vikas Manch, that has been lobbying for direct flights for many years, welcomed the positive approach taken by MP Brad Vis in Canada and hailed his efforts for taking up the issue and supporting the petition in the Canadian Parliament.
Brar advised other parliamentarians in Canada to work collectively and bring this cause to the notice of not only Air Canada but also other airlines like WestJet, Lufthansa, KLM-Air France, British Airways, Swiss etc. that operate flights to Toronto and Vancouver from their respective country hubs. Starting of flights by these airlines will also provide convenient connectivity for Amritsar, the most sought-after destination for Punjabi diaspora to connect with their roots and visitors from around the world.
