Altogether 32 migrant workers, including 15 women of Bhalsumar Panchayat of Ramgarh block of Dumka, accompanied by their five children who were trapped at Idukki district of Kerala since June 29 were brought back to state at the initiative of State Migrant Control Room and NGO Shubh Sandesh through the Alappuzzha-Dhanbad express.

Senior officials of the district administration led by Additional Collector, Shyam Narayan Ram who received them at Dhanbad Railway Station in the presence of Tundi MLA, Mathura Prasad Mahto and others later sent them to Dumka, through buses and SUVs after carrying their mandatory test where they will be put in institutional quarantine for five days before being sent back to their respective places.

The incident comes close on the heels of the Jharkhand government last month rescuing 33 tribal migrant workers and their nine children who were forced to live like bonded labourers in a brick kiln in Uttar Pradesh.

This month alone the Jharkhand government rescued a total of 47 children from Delhi who had been trafficked.

"Thirty two workers and their five children hailing from Santhal Parangana region were rescued from Kerala at the intervention of Chief Minister Hemant Soren," a state government spokesperson said.

On CM's intervention, a joint initiative by the Labour Department's State Migrant Control Room and a social organisation PHIA Foundation helped rescue 32 workers from Jharkhand and their five children from Kerala.

Anita Marandi, a resident of the Dumka district in Jharkhand thanked CM Hemant for listening to her plea when she and other migrant workers found themselves in a problematic situation in Kerala.

The workers were promised a daily wage of Rs 400 per person but due to the difficult geographical location, the workers were not ready to work there and were forced into it, a statement from the state government said.

The 32 labourers departed from Dumka on a bus along with a bus driver of Kerala on June 27 on the promise of providing them job of Rs 6000 per month in a factory but after reaching Idukki, the bus driver failed to provide them with a job and on the other hand taken their Aadhar card and compelled them to work for some forest clearance work without pay.

The labourers somehow contacted the State Migrant Control Room at Ranchi which in turn contacted the local administration of Idukki through NGO Shubh Sandesh which first provided food to the trapped persons and then arranged for their return journey to Jharkhand.

Talking to the media, Ram said, “We are extending help as part of state government instruction to every person lying trapped in any other state and facing difficulties there and today brought 32 such persons lying trapped in Idukki along with their three children.”

He further said the migrant labourers were brought as an effort of the State Migrant Control Room in association with Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development, Ernakulam, India Care and Labour department.

Tundi MLA, Mathura Prasad Mahto who was also present at Dhanbad Railway Station, said, “The state government is committed to provide all necessary facilities to the laborers within the state and in process of generating employment opportunities for the people within the state”

Talking to The Telegraph Online today, Daniel Ponraj, Chief Executive Officer of NGO Shubh Sandesh, who also present at the Dhanbad Railway station to receive the migrant labourers, said, “After receiving information through the state migrant control room we contacted the local police and district administration of Idukki which took up the issue very seriously and arranged for food as the labourers were even deprived of sufficient food as instead of Rs 6,000 per person they were only provided a cumulative one time money of Rs 15,000.”

“The local administration then arranged for their repatriation back to Jharkhand and they reached today at Dhanbad from where they were sent to Dumka” said Ponraj and added they have also arranged for food to migrant people at various intermediate stations like Chennai, Vizag etc during their return journey.

Mahendra Prasad, one of the rescued migrant labourers of Dumka in his interaction with media said, “We were taken in the name of providing jobs at a factory but instead we were asked to clear forest and not given any money.”

As many as eight lakh calls had been received by the state authorities from such workers who were in distress during the pandemic and the state government also ensured the return of 1,176 migrant workers from abroad.