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Updated May 28th, 2020 at 09:28 IST

Delhi mushroom farmer sends 10 workers home to Bihar by flight; at least 1 worker's first

Ten migrant workers on Thursday left from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport for Patna, after their employer Pappan Gehlot paid for their flight ticket

Reported by: Jay Pandya
Delhi
| Image:self
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Ten migrant workers on Thursday left from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) for Patna, Bihar, after their employer Pappan Gehlot, a mushroom farmer, paid for their flight tickets. Speaking to news agency ANI, one of the workers said, "I had never thought I will get to sit in an aeroplane, our employer made the arrangements for us".

Pappan booked tickets worth Rs 68,000 

Niranjan Gehlot, brother of farmer Pappan Gehlot said, "We tried to book trains tickets but were unable to do it. Then we thought these people have been working with us for over 20 years, their journey should be safe, so we got them medically examined and arranged flight tickets for them."

Pappan Gehlot on Wednesday said he has booked tickets worth Rs 68,000 and is also giving each of them Rs 3,000 in cash so they don't face any problems when they reach their home state. "These 10 workers would have left for their homes in Bihar in the first week of April on a train but they could not go due to the lockdown," Pappan said.

Thousands of migrants workers have taken to roads, walking, cycling or hitchhiking on trucks, to reach their homes since the nation-wide lockdown was imposed on March 25 to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

354 domestic flights operated till 5 pm Wednesday

A total of 354 domestic flights carrying 47,917 passengers were handled by airports across the country between 12 AM and 5 PM on Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. Domestic services resumed on Monday after a gap of two months, and 428 flights were operated within the country that day. On Tuesday, 445 domestic passenger flights were operated in India.

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All scheduled domestic services were suspended in India from March 25 to May 24 due to restrictions in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Domestic passenger flights are currently permitted to operate from all airports in the country except the ones in West Bengal.  West Bengal had not agreed to the resumption of domestic flights from Monday as it had just been hit by cyclone Amphan. On Sunday night, the Central government announced that domestic passenger flights will begin in West Bengal from Thursday.

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(With agency inputs)

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Published May 28th, 2020 at 09:28 IST

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