Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged the Centre and the Maharashtra government to immediately arrange for the evacuation of 2,000 Punjabi pilgrims from the Nanded Sahib gurdwara, where they are stuck in the wake of the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 outbreaak.

Amarinder Singh wrote in this regard to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray, according to an official spokesperson, who said the Maharashtra government has responded with the assurance that necessary action would be taken to help the stranded pilgrims.

In separate letters to the Union Home Minister and the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh said these pilgrims from Punjab had gone to pay obeisance at the historic gurdwara Sri Hazur Sahib in Nanded in Maharashtra.

Owing to cancellation of trains some days back and the nationwide lockdown imposed since midnight on Tuesday, there is no possibility to bring them back to Punjab without special approval of the Government of India, wrote Amarinder Singh.

The Punjab Chief Minister pointed out that the state government had already taken up the matter with the Ministry of Railways to allow plying of special trains to evacuate these stranded pilgrims.

He further wrote that officials of Punjab government were in constant touch with the district administration of Nanded for making suitable arrangements for their boarding and lodging.