Amrika for Rs 15 lakh, Kanaida for Rs 10 lakh

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">new delhi: although the indian embassy in greece has denied any boat tragedy that reportedly killed 19 youth on friday, the ‘‘go <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">phoren</span>’’ craze among the punjab youth remains very high. capitalising on this trend, unscrupulous travel agents, religious preachers, pop stars and political leaders are making a ‘killing’.in a state with a dismal job scenario and a lot of spare cash, thousands of youths shell out lakhs of rupees each to illegally go abroad each year. "the going rate for <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">amrika</span> is rs 15 lakh. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">kanaida</span> comes a little cheaper — for rs 10 lakh," says a patiala lad who has met many travel agents to reach his dreamland — the us. "of late, italy and south korea have been the usual destinations for which they pay up to rs 5 lakh," he adds. curiously, many people possess multiple passports. "if you are stamped ''no'' for <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">amrika</span>, you approach the embassy next time with a fresh passport. one of my friends had three passports. two from the jalandhar passport office and one from chandigarh. all you have to do is to change your name or surname or the addresses," he says. if their modus operandi is uncovered, the wily travel agents and the aspirants are quick to devise a new one. "since it is easy to get a mexican visa, the agents have, for years, used the mexican route to push youths illegally into <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">amrika</span> through truck trailers or the unguarded border. a similar method is applied to get into germany via polland." religion has become another route to go <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">phoren</span>. gurdwaras have sprung up all over the west in the name of different clans and communities — jats, ramgarhias and ramdasias. "the aim behind raising these gurdwaras is not religion, but to get entry into these countries for their clansmen as caretakers or granthis. the laws in the west allow you to do so. then they invite jathas, many of whose members never return to india," says surjit singh of southall in london. many singers and cultural troupes have also been helping the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">phoren</span>-crazy youth in getting illegal entry into western countries. "whenever music groups and pop stars go abroad for music nites, you pay them a huge amount of money to become a member of the troupe. so, you get a visa, enter the us or canada and disappear," says a source close to a top punjabi pop star. once there, many of these illegal immigrants bring in their spouses through equally dubious channels. "they pay someone to ''marry'' their wives and bring them over," says the source. while going abroad, many political leaders are also reported to have charged lakhs of rupees to take such people as their staff to get them illegal entry into those countries. and in the cash-flush punjab, a passport with a us or british visa fetches a willing auctioner up to rs 10 lakh. like poverty, prosperity too can have ugly manifestations. </div> </div>