Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that the state would fly back 60 migrant workers who were stranded in the Batalik-Kargil area in Leh to Ranchi. Soren thanked officials responsible for the mission as also the team’s Spice Jet and IndiGo Airlines for their support.
We are committed to ensure our migrant workers return home safe. Our Govt is flying back 60 workers, who were stranded in Batalik- Kargil, Leh to Ranchi.
Spcl thanks to @DvCom_Secretary – Ladakh, DG- BRO & local BRO Officers, @flyspicejet & @IndiGo6E teams for their able support pic.twitter.com/6u1vrpz9cG— Hemant Soren (घर में रहें – सुरक्षित रहें) (@HemantSorenJMM) May 29, 2020
The workers will arrive on a SpiceJet flight to Delhi at around 2 pm and will depart from the national capital in Indigo flight at 6 pm to reach Ranchi at 8 pm, the officials added. Upon arrival in Ranchi, Chief Minister Hemant Soren will be present at the airport to receive the workers. The migrant workers will be sent to their respective districts after proper thermal screening.
Leh में फंसे Jharkhand के मजदूरों को @HemantSorenJMM की सरकार ने कराया एयरलिफ्ट, पहली बार हवाई सफर कर रहे श्रमिक ने क्या कहा, सुनिए pic.twitter.com/qfs4Yc7Fl4
— Newsd Hindi (@NewsdHindi) May 29, 2020
Ladakh administration officials and the BRO are actively supporting the effort and all 60 migrant workers were checked, thermal screened, and transported to Leh.
Jharkhand is the first state to have decided to fly back its migrant workers at a time when many of them have been abandoned by their employers as also home states.
On May 10, the workers had reached out to the chief minister through Twitter following which the state government initiated a process to bring them back. Soren personally urged the Ladakh administration to assist them while the state was arranging for their return.
Till now, around 4 Lakh of the total 7.5 Lakh registered workers have been brought back to states by various means.
On May 28, The first batch of 180 migrants from Jharkhand, stranded in Mumbai for over two months due to the coronavirus lockdown, were brought to Ranchi on a specially chartered plane. The flight took off from Mumbai Airport and landed on Birsa Munda Aiport at 8:30 am.
The alumni network of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, along with NGOs and activists who have leased an AirAsia aircraft to shift 180 migrant workers who hail from various districts of Jharkhand.
As per the reports, Soren government is working to airlift around 320 workers from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands soon.
On the coronavirus outbreak front, 18 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the total number of coronavirus cases to 477 in Jharkhand. 213 people have been discharged after recovering from the disease. The death toll of the state stands at 4.
