A grand welcome on homecoming awaits 15 Jharkhand workers, who were rescued from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi along with 26 others, on their arrival to the state capital on Friday, an official said.
The 15 workers along with their 12 family members, will be flown to Ranchi from Delhi where Chief Minister Hemant Soren will have an interaction with them, the official said.
"All the 15 workers, their 12 family members and state government officials who were camping in Uttarkashi are scheduled to reach Birsa Munda Airport at about 8 pm. When they arrive in Ranchi they will meet the Hon'ble Chief Minister," State Labour Secretary Rajesh Kumar Sharma told PTI.
State Labour Minister Satyanand Bhokta will receive the workers at the airport.
"A dinner has been planned for them at Circuit House. They will be staying at Circuit House tonight. All arrangements have been made and tomorrow they will be sent to their respective villages. If those from Ranchi and Khunti want to go to their families tonight, we will send them today," Sharma said.
On their health check-up, the official said AIIMS Rishikesh had already kept them under observation for 24 hours so it was not required and in case of any such need, arrangements will be made.
A three-member team from the state had rushed to the spot soon after the tunnel collapse on Diwali day.
The workers were taken to AIIMS Rishikesh for a health check-up on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Jharkhand Labour secretary Rajesh Kumar Sharma had said as soon as the workers are released from the hospital, the government will fly them from Dehradun to Delhi and then to Ranchi.
The 41 workers, belonging to Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam, were rescued from the collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi after a gruelling 17-day operation.
In Khirabeda, on the outskirts of Ranchi, family members of Rajendra, Sukhram and Anil, all in their early twenties, are waiting with bated breath for their arrival.
Sukhram's sister Khushboo told PTI that they will celebrate Diwali when they return. The mood in the nondescript village has turned festive.
Khirabeda village saw a total of 13 people going to Uttarkashi on November 1 in search of greener pastures. Little did they know what fate had in store for them. Luckily, only three of the 13 from Khirabeda were inside the tunnel when the disaster struck.
Besides three from Khirabeda, the trapped Jharkhand workers hail from Giridih, Khunti and West Singhbhum, where people have erupted in joy after the trapped workers were rescued on Tuesday evening.
In Singhbhum, the families of the six rescued workers are eagerly awaiting a reunion.
For all barring one - Bhaktu Murmu, whose 70-year-old father "died of anxiety" a few hours before his son was evacuated along with 40 other workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara tunnel it would be a happy union with their families.
Saluting the courage and bravery of workers Chief Minister Hemant Soren has said the reunion would be a real 'Diwali' for their families.
Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days.
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