Bollywood actor has been working in the shadows to send stranded workers home
The issue of migrants stuck in cities across India, and unable to reach their homes due to the current travel restrictions within the country has been grabbing headlines for a while.
While Sonu Sood has emerged as a real life hero for many of these migrants, we hear that Amitabh Bachchan has also been working in the shadows to help many reach home. Bachchan who had earlier been responsible for helping workers return to various places in Uttar Pradesh via road has now arranged flights to help many get back home.
A Times of India report says that six flights, two each to Gorakhpur, Allahabad and Varanasi, with 180 migrants on each flight will take off on June 10 and 11.
The workers were scheduled to be sent home on trains but due to a technical snag it didn’t materialise.
According to a report in Mid Day, a source is quoted as saying: “Everything is being done with utmost discretion as Bachchanji doesn’t want it to be publicised. He was moved by the plight of the migrant workers and decided to help them. He has chartered the Indigo Airlines’ Varanasi-bound flight that was scheduled to depart on Wednesday morning. The 180 migrants scheduled to travel on the morning flight have been asked to report to the airport at 6 am. The initial plan was to send them home by train, but the logistics didn’t work out.”
The report added that the entire arrangement is being supervised by a close aide of the actor. It added that Amitabh is also arranging for a few more flights to ensure migrants reach their hometowns in West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and a few other states.
