Actor Sonu Sood earns Maharashtra governor's pat for sending 12,000 migrants back home

MUMBAI: Over 12,000 migrant workers and their families from Mumbai have returned to their homes in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan over the past two weeks after actor Sonu Sood went beyond predictable donations and used his money and might to set the government wheels in motion instead and flag off busloads of stranded migrants with food and water for their travel up to each one’s doorstep.
Lauding his hands-on efforts, the governor of Maharashtra called the actor on Wednesday to compliment him for his “dedicated work in facilitating the safe transportation of migrant people” from various states to their home states. “I have promised myself that I’m not going to rest till the last migrant has reached home. The governor’s call was very encouraging and he said that I could reach out to him for any kind of help,” said Sood.
Earlier in April, the 46-year-old Bollywood actor known for his roles in blockbusters like Dabangg, Jodhaa Akbar and Simmba was the first to open up his property — and offer his Juhu hotel to house healthcare workers before teaming up with his restaurateur friend Neeti Goel to feed 45,000 people in need of ration, everyday.
“When I saw images of migrant workers and their children travelling for miles on foot, I wanted to do whatever I could to help these people who build the roads, bridges, buildings and studios that we travel on and live in,” says Sood who set up a food truck at Thane’s Kalwa Chowk earlier this month where he met migrants desperate to return home.