Jharkhand government to airlift stranded migrant labourers from Leh

Amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, Jharkhand government will airlift 115 stranded migrant workers from Nubra Valley, Diskit and Chunthug valley on Monday, June 8 and Tuesday, June 9, officials from the Chief Minister's office said. The migrant labourers working on a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project in the area were stuck at the valley for a couple of months due to the nationwide lockdown put in place.

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"Jharkhand Government initiates second and third airlift from Leh starting today; flights will land at Ranchi Airport on 8th and 9th June. 115 workers stranded in BRO projects in far off places at Nubra Valley, Diskit and Chunthug valley are being flown back," a statement from Jharkhand CMO read.

Jharkhand CMO further informed that another 93 workers will be evacuated on June 12 and 13 from Leh, thus completing the entire group of 270.

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The migrants expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister Hemant Soren for helping them to return to their hometown. 

"We are from Jharkhand. We had come to work in Chamlung in Leh. Now that our work has stopped because of the pandemic, we are stuck here. We wrote to our CM Hemant Soren for his help and he is taking us back to our villages. We are very very grateful for his help," a stranded worker said while speaking to ANI.

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COVID-19 cases in Jharkhand

According to the Ministry of health and family welfare, Jharkhand has recorded a total of 1000 total coronavirus cases out of which 520 are active cases, 473 patients have been recovered/discharged and 7 deaths have been recorded. India's total COVID cases rise to 2,46,628 of which 1,20,406 are active.6,929 people have died thus far while 1,19,293 have recovered.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state in the country with 82,968 cases after 2,739 people tested positive for Coronavirus on June 6, Saturday. There are 42,609 active cases at present. 37,390 patients recovered and were discharged and 2,969 COVID-19 deaths were recorded. Apart from Maharashtra, states like Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, and Rajasthan have also recorded a large number of cases

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(With inputs from ANI)