The silent Samaritan, Amitabh Bachchan does his bit for the migrants

Amitabh Bachchan

Just as the movie industry needs more acting giants like Amitabh Bachchan, the country could well do with more silent Samaritans like him. Over the past two months, the megastar, away from the public glare, has been distributing food kits among the needy in Mumbai. Recently, he arranged the transport of over 200 people stuck in the city. Now, mid-day has learnt that Bachchan has chartered three flights, to take over 500 migrant workers to their hometown Varanasi, today.

The initiative is being supervised by Rajesh Yadav, managing director of Bachchan-s companies and his close aide. A source reveals, "Everything is being done with utmost discretion as Bachchanji doesn-t want it to be publicised. He was moved by the plight of the migrant workers and decided to help them. He has chartered the Indigo Airlines- Varanasi-bound flight that is scheduled to depart on Wednesday morning. The 180 migrants scheduled to travel on the morning flight have 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." Two more chartered aircrafts are scheduled for later in the day.

As part of the endeavour, in the coming days, the actor will also arrange air tickets for those headed to West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and other states. "Bachchanji and Yadav spearheaded the initiative, with the megastar bearing the expenses. Meanwhile, he is continuing the food donation drive in collaboration with the Haji Ali Trust and Pir Makhdum Saheb Trust," adds the source.

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