Soren helps 19 workers return safe from Lanka

RANCHI: With the timely intervention of the Jharkhand government led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, all 19 workers of the state, who were stranded in Sri Lanka, have safely returned home to their respective homes at Giridih, Hazaribagh and Dhanbad from Sri Lanka.

The return of 19 migrant workers, who were in deep financial crisis due to job loss, was made possible after the payment of Rs 8.68 lakh in lieu of their pending salaries by the state government under the direction of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Notably, it's not the first time that the Soren government has ensured the safe return of stranded workers from various parts of the country and abroad as there are many such instances when the government has acted promptly to ensure safety and security of the workers.

The labourers, belonging to different blocks of Giridih, Hazaribagh and Topchanchi block of Dhanbad had gone to Sri Lanka to work for Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd and lost their job. They left Colombo on Friday morning through a flight at around 3.10 am and reached Chennai at around 4.40 am. From here, they left for Jharkhand at 11.45 am and arrived at the Ranchi airport at around 2 pm.

According to an official release, “On May 5, a total due of Rs 8,68,777 was paid in the account of all the workers by the contractor and the company. Besides this, air tickets were also made available for everyone to return to the country.”

“The state government got to know about their problem through social media. Taking cognizance of the issue, Chief Minister Hemant Soren requested the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka for help. The CM had also directed the State Migrant Control Room and Department of Labour to take necessary action in this regard,” it said.