Big B, trusts charter flights to get 1.5K migrants home
PRAYAGRAJ: Amitabh Bachchan, in collaboration with Haji Ali Trust and the Mahim Dargah Trust, sent around 1,550 odd migrant labourers by chartered flights to several cities of the state. One of these flights landed at the Civil Enclave of Bamrauli Airport, Prayagraj, on Wednesday evening, with 151 migrant labourers of Prayagraj and neighbouring districts.
Earlier, the plan was to send 1,547 registered labourers and their families by train but when the train was cancelled due to a technical issue, the cine star and the two trusts joined hands and sent these stranded labourers by air.
Among those who landed along with their families and children at Bamrauli, there were many first-time fliers. “I am in the business of selling bangles and when my family had lost all hope of getting home, we were told that a flight would take us.
My first reaction was that someone was joking but here I am, safe and secure along with my family, completing an experience that we will never forget,” said a passenger, belonging to Bhadohi, who did not wish to be named.
The flight also brought migrant labourers from several other districts like Basti, Kaushambi,
Bhadohi, Pratapgrah. Similar flights have been planned for cities like Varanasi, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Patna also, they said.
The noble act of the ‘Big B’ and the two religious trusts of Mumbai did not end there. From the airport, the migrants were dropped home by rented taxis, the cost of which was also
151 WORKERS FROM PRAYAGRAJ, AROUND, LAND AT BAMRAULI ON WEDNESDAY EVENING
incurred by the do-gooders.
The passengers were permitted to leave the premises of the airport only after following all set norms.
The help for the migrant labourers was named ‘Mission Milaap’ and the flights were sponsored by Amitabh Bachchan, under the guidance of Haji Ali Dargah trustee and Mahim Dargah managing trustee Suhail Khandwani. The activity was coordinated by Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited managing director Rajesh Yadav and Mahim Dargah IT director Sabir Syed.