Ranchi: Following the directions of Chief Minister Hemant Soren the safe return of the workers who had went to work in Sri Lanka which is facing a financial crisis shows the sensitivity of the government towards the people of the state.
This is not the first time that the work of safe return of stranded workers has been done in the country and abroad. There are dozens of such instances when the government has come forward in respect of the workers.
19 workers from Giridih, Hazaribagh and Dhanbad districts had requested Sri Lanka for help and return home through social media. On April 2, they had sent a message to the Government of India and the Government of Jharkhand on social media. Taking cognizance of this Chief Minister Hemant Soren had requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka for help.
Along with this, the Chief Minister had also directed the State Migrant Control Room and Labour Department for appropriate action. During verification, it was revealed that all the labourers were working as fitters in Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited in Sri Lanka since 18 February 2022. Workers stranded in Sri Lanka reported that their passports were confiscated by the contractor. Even after more than three months, they were not paid salaries and they were stopped even paying for food.
The state government’s labour department contacted the Indian High Commission and other officials in Sri Lanka to provide assistance to the workers, and the state migrant control room contacted the contractor and the company and asked them to clear the dues of the workers. The Indian High Commission and officials in Sri Lanka took cognizance of the incident and the workers were given food and security through the company.
On May 5, 2022, a total of Rs 8,68,777 was paid in the account of all the workers by paying the dues to the workers by the contractor and the company. Along with this, air tickets were also made for everyone to return to the country. After which all the workers left for India on May 6 2022 at 3 o’clock in the morning and reached Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi at 2 pm. “Our government is working under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren with sensitivity towards workers and workers,” said Labour Minister Satyanand Bhokta.