Five migrant workers from Jharkhand, stranded in Cameroon for months, are finally back in India after a coordinated effort involving state officials, activists and the Indian High Commission.

The workers, hired by a Mumbai-based multinational company to lay transmission lines, say they had not received salaries for the past five months.

Their situation came to light after they recorded a video detailing their condition and sent it to social activist Sikander Ali, who alerted the Labour Department.

Shikha Lakra, team leader of the State Migrant Control Room, said the state intervened soon after receiving the complaint.

“Their pending salaries were cleared in Cameroon, and their flight landed in Mumbai on Tuesday. They will board a train to Jharkhand on Wednesday,” she said.

Lakra added that coordination with Indian officials abroad was crucial to resolving the issue.

“We got in touch with the Indian High Commission in Cameroon, and shared all the documents of the workers and their employer. The high commission got in touch with the local authorities and managed to clear the five months' pending salaries of each of the five workers,” she said on Tuesday.

The labourers, Sunil Mahato, Sukar Mahato, Chandrashekhar Kumar and Dilon Mahato from Hazaribagh, and Dilchand Mahato from Giridih, are expected to reach their respective districts by Thursday.