As many as 180 migrant workers of Jharkhand, stranded in various parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, were flown to Ranchi in a chartered Indigo flight on Saturday at the behest of the chief minister, the second such humanitarian initiative that has earned Hemant Soren admiration from all quarters.

According to airport officials, the stranded migrants boarded the flight at Port Blair at 3.30pm and landed at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi at 6.10pm.

State drinking water and sanitation minister Mithilesh Thakur welcomed the workers at the airport with red roses. The state government had also arranged for food packets and water for all the returnees.

On Friday, 60-odd stranded migrants were brought back from Leh in a chartered flight, the operation personally monitored by Hemant.

'Several stranded migrants have returned to Jharkhand in the past 48 hours. I welcome them home,' Hemant said on Saturday, according to a press communique issued by his office.

'The government is committed to reaching out to all the stranded migrants of our state and ensure their safe return,' he added.

The Jharkhand government is understood to have spent around Rs 21 lakh in the entire process, which includes flight booking and supply of food to the migrants, an official from Hemant's office said.

The migrants, mostly from the Santhal Pargana region were ferried to their respective districts by buses, he added.

Dhanik Oraon, one of the migrants who was stranded in Andaman and Nicobar for over two months, thanked the chief minister for his well-meaning initiative, and said that his family was indebted to Hemant for planning their return.

'All of us are grateful to the chief minister for coming to our rescue in this time of crisis,' he said.

Jharkhand became the first state to airlift migrants from Leh on Friday. Earlier on Thursday, the alumni of National Law School in Bangalore leased an Air Asia flight to facilitate the return of around 180 migrants from Mumbai to Ranchi.

In all, as many as 400 migrants have returned to Jharkhand by air in the past 48 hours.

At a time when migrant workers are covering miles on foot to reach home as they battle abandonment by their employers, this gesture by the Jharkhand government stood out as one of the most positive happenings in India that is battling the Covid19 epidemic amid a serious economic downturn.

Over a dozen Jharkhand migrants have died in road accidents in Uttar Pradesh while returning home during the lockdown, while many have fallen prey to COVID-19 infection.