The flights were organized on the directive of Amitabh Bachchan by his close collaborator Rajesh Yadav. (File)
Mumbai / Allahabad:
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan organized four special flights on Wednesday to send around 700 migrants from Mumbai, Maharashtra, to their homes in Uttar Pradesh.
Two more flights with migrant workers will take off on Thursday, sources close to Bachchan said, adding that he wanted to book a train for the migrants but the logistics did not work.
The flights were “organized” on the directive of Mr. Bachchan by his close collaborator Rajesh Yadav, managing director of his national production company AB Corp Ltd.
Flights took off from Mumbai for Allahabad, Gorakhpur and Varanasi in UP Wednesday morning with 180 passengers each, the sources said.
Mr. Yadav, on behalf of Mr. Bachchan, also recently stopped 10 buses for 300 migrants to reach their villages in Lucknow, Allahabad, Bhadohi and other places in Uttar Pradesh. This was done in partnership with the dargahs of Mahim and the Haji Ali, according to a statement.
After landing at Allahabad Airport from Mumbai in a special IndiGo flight, Ghulam Hassan, from the overwhelmed village of Korawan, thanked Mr. Bachchan for helping him reach his home, also in a flight free.
“I had never traveled on a plane before that, but Bachchan Sahib made this possible for me too at a time when I was severely stuck in Mumbai amidst the isolation. I am going home after eight months”, said Mr. Hasan, who runs a sewing workshop in the Hazi Ali district of Mumbai, said.
Originally from Azamgarh, Mukesh Madhesia, who runs a sewing workshop at Worli in Mumbai, also expressed his gratitude to Mr. Bachchan.
“I contacted Haji Ali Dargah and filled out a travel form after being informed by a friend that Bcahchan saheb had arranged for flights for the locals of the UP who wanted to return home. And we have soon got plane tickets. It was amazing, “he said.
“We were very worried about the closure of our store and the lack of other sources of income in the middle of the closure. But Amitabh Bachchan saved us by helping us get home,” he said. added.
Allahabad airport manager Sunil Yadav said: “This IndiGo Airbus A 320 has brought a total of 180 passengers from Mumbai. Another special flight is expected to land here on Thursday.”
Earlier this week, actor Sonu Sood also organized a special flight to send 180 Assamese migrants home. Last month, it helped 177 stranded workers in Kerala return home to Odisha.
The lockdown, which began on March 25, has left hundreds of thousands of migrants stranded in different parts of the country. Without money or work, many traveled on foot, by bicycle or by hitchhiking to villages hundreds, sometimes thousands of kilometers away.
