JAMSHEDPUR: More than 55 wedding guests from Odisha, who had to spend around 40 days of the lockdown on a roof in Pardesi Para under Sonari police station here, are among those who have applied for a vehicle pass to return home, after the ministry of home affairs on Saturday gave permission for inter-state movement of vehicles.
The guests, mostly belonging to Balangir and Rourkela, had come to the Steel City to attend a wedding reception in March.
The sudden lockdown announcement left the group, comprising men, women and children, with no choice but to spend their days and nights in a makeshift rooftop pandal.
After TOI highlighted their plight, Srikant Nair, who owns a chain of schools in Jamshedpur, offered to house the group in the classrooms of his school. The Utkal Association’s local chapter also offered help, but the guests declined as they had expected the lockdown to end on Sunday.
Ram Panda, a senior member of the group, said they were in touch with their MLA in Odisha and hoped to safely enter the state once they get the green signal from Jharkhand.
The East Singhbhum transport office has already received 140 applications for vehicle passes.