The workers at Chennai Central station on Tuesday evening
Ranchi: As many as 42 migrant workers, stranded in Tamil Nadu for 10 days after an ammonia gas leak at a seafood processing unit in Tiruvallur district on June 21 killed 16 people, began their journey back to Jharkhand on Tuesday evening.The group — 19 women and 23 men — are from West Singhbhum, Dhanbad, Pakur, Giridih, Dumka, Latehar and Sahebganj districts.On Monday morning, the Tiruvallur administration informed them about arrangements for their return and handed over train tickets, bringing relief to the workers, who said they had a horrific experience and were anxious to meet their families.“Although it took longer than we thought, finally we are returning to our homes and family members. We all were desperate to return home. Our family members were worried about our well-being after they found out about the incident. On Monday, we were informed about our return and given the train tickets. All 41 members will board the Alappuzha-Dhanbad Express on Wednesday from Chennai and will reach Dhanbad on Thursday,” Mukesh Kumar Mahato from Dhanbad, a worker at the unit, said on Tuesday.After a video of the workers’ plight was circulated on social media on Saturday, cChief minister Hemant Soren directed the state migrant control room to take cognisance of the matter.“We thank the state govt for ensuring our safe return to our homes,” Mukesh added.Officials said the return plan was coordinated after the matter was brought before the authorities, while the workers awaited travel clearance. Since the gas leak, the workers were housed in a marriage hall, nearly 5 km from the unit. Preeti Devi, a worker from Dhanbad, died on Friday.The state govt is also bringing back the mortal remains of Preeti to Ranchi via a flight. “On the initiative of the Jharkhand govt, the deceased’s family members were facilitated in traveling to Tamil Nadu, and the identification of the body, post-mortem examination, and all other legal formalities were completed expeditiously. With the cooperation of the Tamil Nadu govt, her mortal remains are being flown to Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi on Tuesday evening. The Jharkhand govt has arranged an ambulance at the airport to transport her remains with full dignity to her home district of Dhanbad,” the information and public relations department said in an official communique on Tuesday.It added that the migrant workers control room is continuously coordinating with the employer and the authorities concerned to ensure that the deceased’s family receives compensation due under the law, along with all other statutory benefits, at the earliest.
