Actor Sonu Sood flies out 169 Odia migrants stuck in Kerala
Actor Sonu Sood. (Photo: @vpsbadnore)
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.