KOLKATA: Indigo Airlines has come forward to help three migrants from West Bengal stranded in Mumbai, including one who sold his goats to buy a ticket of a Kolkata-bound flight which was cancelled after Bengal government prohibited flights until May 28.
The airlines said it has booked tickets for the three migrants for June 1 without charging them extra. "We have re-accommodated the three passengers who were unable to travel to Kolkata. Their original booking had to be cancelled as West Bengal prohibited flights until May 28. We had offered to rebook them on May 28, but they decided to travel on June 1," the airline tweeted.
Sona Mollah, Raheema Khatun and Farid Mollah, all natives of Bengal’s Murshidabad district, raised Rs 30,600 to buy air tickets. While Raheema sold his finger ring, Farid borrowed and used his savings, and Sona’s wife sold three goats for Rs 9,600 and deposited in her husband’s bank account.
The three broke down upon knowing that the flight to Kolkata was cancelled and there would not be any refunds. On May 25, when the first-day domestic flight operations were resumed, the trio hired a cab and spent Rs 2,000 to reach Mumbai airport from Diva near Thane. A few made videos showing their plight at the airport which went viral in the social media only after they returned to Diva by spending another Rs 2,000.
The three migrants from three nearby villages in Murshidabad district have been living in Mumbai for a decade now.
As Indigo agreed to help Sona, Raheema and Farid, they will board a flight scheduled to leave 11.55 am on June 1.