Actor Sonu Sood flies out 169 Odia migrants stranded in Kerala
Bhubaneswar: Not all angels have wings, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help others soar. About 169 Odia migrant workers who were stranded in Kerala since the lockdown started, managed to fly back home on Friday with help from actor Sonu Sood.
Moved by the plight of workers – 148 of them girls – whose ardent video appeal for help to return home reached Sood through a twitterati, the Bollywood actor arranged for a special AirAsia flight from Cochin to Bhubaneswar. From there, four buses arranged by the Kendrapada district administration took the migrants to their native places where they were kept in quarantine centres as per government policy for migrant returnees.
“We got to know about these girls stranded in Kerala. We found out their phone numbers and talked to them. I assured them help,” Sood told TOI over phone.
The actor said the girls were living in difficult conditions. “They were not getting proper food and were desperate to return home,” said Sood, who has been actively helping migrants reach home.
But the distance between Bhubaneswar and the garment factory at Kizhakkambalam in Ernakulam district of Kerala was close to 2000 km and moving the girls by bus was proving difficult given that they had to cross a number of state borders. “So, we thought of airlifting them from Cochin airport. It was a new experience for them and they could reach home early,” said the actor of blockbuster movies like Dabangg and Simmba among others.
AirAsia, which does not have a direct flight between Cochin and Bhubaneswar, routed its flight from Bengaluru to pick up the girls from the Kerala town. The flight took off from Cochin International Airport at 8am and landed at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar at around 10.30am.
Sood said his team took special permission from authorities at Cochin and Bhubaneswar airports for the special flight. He also convinced AirAsia to run the flight. “I am so happy that the girls have returned home,” said Sood.
Talking about their plight, Manasi Nayak from Rajnagar in Kendrapada district, said they were staying within the premises of the textile factory at Kizhakkambalam in Ernakulam district. “We have been working there for four years and earning between Rs 10,000-12,000 every month. But after the lockdown started, the factory owner refused to pay us,” Nayak said.
Languishing in distant Kerala with the lockdown eating away their jobs and the little money they had saved, the girls, mostly in their 20s, were getting desperate to return home.
They got in touch with former Rajnagar MLA Ansuman Mohanty. “On Tuesday, Sonu Sood called us to enquire about our situation. He promised to help us,” said Nayak. She said none of the workers there knew who Sood was and what he did for a living.
“I did not know who Sonu Sood was at that time. But after we spoke to the former MLA, we realised that he was such a big film actor who was trying to help us,” she added.
Mohanty said initially he did not believe the girls when they said Sood had spoken to them. “But after getting in touch with the actor, I realised the girls will soon be back home. I thank the actor for his kindness,” Mohanty said.
“I had read about angels in story books. Now, we have come across one. Sonu Sood is an angel who flew us back home,” said Sarita Sahu, also of Rajnagar and one of those saved by the actor’s generosity.
EoM