Coronavirus Outbreak: Amitabh Bachchan arranges flights for 500 migrants travelling to Varanasi

Veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan has arranged for three flights so that around 500 workers can go home to Varanasi amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Click  here  to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak) According to Mid-Day, a source told the publication that everything is being done with utmost discretion as the actor does not want it to be publicized. “He was moved by the plight of the migrant workers and decided to help them. He has chartered the Indigo Airlines’ Varanasi-bound flight, scheduled to depart today morning. The 180 migrants scheduled to travel on the morning flight had been asked to report to the airport at 6 am. The initial plan was to send them home by train, but the logistics didn’t work out,” the source was quoted as saying. [caption id=“attachment_4521781” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  Amitabh Bachchan. Image from Facebook[/caption] The report added that the initiative is being supervised by Rajesh Yadav, a close aid and managing director of Bachchan’s companies. It revealed that the veteran actor is also arranging for a few more flights to ensure migrants reach their hometowns in West Bengal, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu. Speaking to Times of India, Rajesh Yadav said that the actor has asked him to arrange for the chartered flights for the migrants as he “did not want them to lose hope after being told they would be sent home.” According to the report, the migrants were initially supposed to travel by train, but it could not be arranged due to some technical issues. A week back Big B had arranged for 10 buses for migrant workers in Mumbai to help them get home to Uttar Pradesh. According to a report in Hindustan Times, the buses left from Haji Ali Dargah. Amitabh Bachchan had also pledged monthly ration to support 1,00,000 households of daily wage workers belonging to the All India Film Employees Confederation amid the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative found support by Sony Pictures Networks India and Kalyan Jewellers.