180 migrant workers return to Jharkhand from Andaman on chartered flight

Another batch of 180 migrant workers reached Jharkhand from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on a chartered flight on Thursday after over two months of being stranded away from their homes due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The cost of flying the migrant workers home was borne by a private company, Delhi Inter-Link Food Private Limited. The company had offered to bring back the migrants from Port Blair after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren sought cooperation from industry and corporation houses on June 1.

Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh and Drinking and Sanitation Minister Mithilesh Thakur welcomed the returnees at the Birsa Munda Airport here.

"All were emotional and thankful to the Jharkhand government, especially Chief Minister Hemant Soren, for bringing them back home. Now the government will give them work and respect," Patralekh said.

Thakur said the state government is committed to bringing back its migrant workers by road, train and air. Efforts will continue till the last migrant worker reaches home.

The migrant workers were relieved to have returned to their home state. While some recalled the hardships they faced during the lockdown period, others couldn't hold back their tears.

Speaking to reporters before boarding a bus, a woman migrant worker said, "We had to pay for our food there." "I had a horrid time back in Port Blair," said another worker, a native of Godda district, as he broke down.

"I endured a lot of difficulties there but now I am happy to be back home," he said. Another worker from Dumka said he didn't expect that he would be able to get back home. "But now that I have returned, I don't think I would ever leave my state for work," he said.

Earlier on May 28, a batch of 180 migrant workers reached Jharkhand from Mumbai on a flight sponsored by the Alumni Network of National Law School Students.

Another 60 migrant workers returned from Leh on May 29 and a batch of 180 came back from Port Blair on May 30. The state government bore the cost of bringing back these migrants.

The state government has facilitated the return of more than 4.5 lakh of the approximately 7.5 lakh registered workers from Jharkhand to their native places in different parts of the state.