Jharkhand govt airlifts 60 migrants from Leh, CM Hemant Soren to receive them at airport

In a bid to rescue migrant workers stranded amid COVID-19 lockdown, the Jharkhand government has arranged flights to airlift 60 migrants from Batalik in Leh on Friday, May 29. These migrant labourers were working on a Border Road Organisation (BRO) project in the area, Jharkhand Chief Minister's office confirmed. 

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, the workers are expected to be received by Chief Minister Hemant Soren at the airport.

Ladakh administration officials and the BRO are actively supporting the effort and all 60 migrant workers were checked, thermal screened, and transported to Leh.

On May 10, migrant workers had reached out to the Jharkhand CM on Twitter seeking assistance for their return, following which Soren coordinated with the Ladakh administration on the same.

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Efforts to rescue migrants from Andaman, Northeast

Earlier on May 12, Jharkhand Chief Secretary had written a letter to the Union Home Secretary seeking permission to allow the State government to airlift workers stranded in Andamans, Ladakh, and the North-eastern states at its own expense.

CM Hemant Soren had also personally written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to address the matter. However, officials said that no response was received from the Central government. The Jharkhand government has planned to operate two flights to repatriate around 320 workers from Andamans.

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Shortly after the Centre lifted restrictions on domestic travel, Hemant Soren personally entrusted a team to work out the safe return of 60 migrants from Dumka district in Gorgodoh Village and Batalik in Kargil district, Leh.

Officials said that around 3.5 to 4 lakh of the approximate 7.5 lakh registered migrant workers have already returned to Jharkhand and further efforts are being made to ensure that everyone reaches home safely. A total of 449 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in the state so far, while four people have died due to the virus.

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(With inputs from ANI)