Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; May 12, 2020)

After opening up his hotel to the healthcare workers fighting Coronavirus and distributing PPE kits to doctors, Sonu Sood has now come to the aid of migrant workers stuck in Mumbai. Yesterday, he arranged for 10 buses to carry hundreds of such labourers from Thane to their hometown, Gulbarga, in Karnataka.

He tells us, “I couldn’t see people as old as 80 years old walking back to their hometowns, hundreds of kilometres away, with no food. There were some newborns, too, being carried in the arms of their parents. So, I got in touch with the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka to help arrange transport for them. The process was tedious, but finally, 10 buses left on Monday morning. With some help, I also arranged food for them.”

The actor is now working towards making similar arrangements for migrant workers from Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who are stuck in Mumbai.
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After procuring permission from state governments, Sonu Sood arranges 10 buses to take 350 migrant workers home to Karnataka from Thane
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; May 12, 2020)

Over the past several weeks, the country has been waking up to heartbreaking stories of countless migrant workers walking home, even as the state governments struggle to find a solution. Now, actor Sonu Sood has organised transportation for a section of migrants who have been stuck in Mumbai amid the lockdown. Yesterday, the actor arranged for 10 buses to take 350 workers to their hometown Gulbarga, Karnataka, from Thane.

Sood, who had procured the necessary permission from Maharashtra and Karnataka governments, tells mid-day, "This is the first lot of buses. We arranged for fruits, meals and water for their travel. The Maharashtra government officials helped us in organising the paperwork, and a special mention to the Karnataka government for welcoming the migrants back home."

In the coming days, the actor intends to extend the service to other states across the country. "We are in the last leg of procuring permission to send people to Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. We need to help the migrants get home safely."