Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday announced several sops for Sindhis in the state, including financial assistance of Rs 25,000 for pilgrimage to a holy site of the community in Ladakh.

Sindhi refugees would be given ownership rights of the land in their procession under deeds (pattas) at nominal price for which camps would be put up across the state, Chouhan said while speaking at a function to mark the birth anniversary of teen revolutionary Hemu Kalani.

A statue of Hemu Kalani will be installed at Bhopal's Manuabhan Tekri area as well as in Indore and Jabalpur, he said.

Chouhan hailed the Sindhi community for rebuilding their lives afresh in India after leaving Pakistan for the sake of culture, values and 'Sanatan Dharma'. He said the pilgrimage scheme of Rs 25000 to Ladakh under Mukhyamantri Teerth-Darshan Yojana, where Sindhu Utsav is held every June, would resume. It was abandoned in 2018 and could not be held since 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual budget of the Sindhi Culture Academy will be hiked to Rs 5 crore, while a museum dedicated to the community's rich culture, lifestyle and valour would be set up in Bhopal, the CM announced.

Assembly polls are set to be held in MP at the end of the year.