Jharkhand: 27 ‘stranded’ workers from Cameroon returned to Ranchi

Ranchi: A total of 27 labourers from Jharkhand, reportedly stranded in Cameroon in Central Africa, returned to the state on Wednesday, officials said. The labourers had recently sought help from the state government through a video message. They had claimed that they were not getting salary from the employer and were also facing difficulty in arranging daily food. Following this, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren wrote a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs urging the safe return of the migrant workers. According to the official release, “We received information about the problems of 27 people from Jharkhand stranded in Cameroon, Africa. Following this, the Jharkhand government took the initiative and got their dues of about Rs 30 lakh paid to them and brought them back to the state,” Soren said on X.

Each labourer was also provided financial assistance of Rs 25,000 on return, he said. Earlier in the day, the labourers reached Parasnath railway station in Giridih. Of the 27 labourers, 18 are from Bokaro district, five from Hazaribagh and four from Giridih, the release said. One of the labourers said an agency had taken them to the African country on March 29. “We worked there for four months under a contractor but did not receive any payment. We also faced food-related problems,” he told reporters. Jharkhand labour secretary Mukesh Kumar said his department had 10 lakh registered labourers.