As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has encircled the country’s major cities, including the capital Kyiv, India is attempting to rescue its citizens trapped in the conflict-torn country.
The Indian government has begun ‘Operation Ganga’ to bring back Indians who have been stuck in Ukraine. India has already successfully returned over 1,000 of its citizens to the country under this program. It has also established 24-hour control centers to aid with the evacuation of Indians over the borders of Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Slovak Republic. The operation has also been given its own Twitter handle, ‘OpGanga Helpline,’ where all information about the evacuation process and embassies’ advice is published to keep everyone informed.
Thousands of Indians have been stranded in Ukraine, particularly medical students, since the country blocked its airspace as a security measure after Russia initiated “special military activities.” However, the Indian Embassy informed them that alternate arrangements would be made to assist them in returning to India.
On Saturday evening, India’s first evacuation flight under Operation Ganga arrived in Mumbai, bringing 219 Indians back from Bucharest, Romania’s capital. On Sunday, a second evacuation flight carrying 250 people arrived in Delhi. The third flight ferried 240 Indians from Budapest, Hungary, while the fourth and fifth flights flew 198 and 249 people from Bucharest to Delhi, respectively. On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the sixth flight under Operation Ganga, carrying 240 Indian people, departed Budapest for Delhi. Spicejet, Indigo, and Air India Express have now joined the rescue mission, which was previously carried out by Air India planes.
Many students who reached Ukraine’s borders with Poland and Romania, however, were denied entry into those countries. On social media, several videos of some of those students pleading for assistance have surfaced. They’ve been trapped in subzero temps with scarce food and water. The administration had planned an alternate railway route from Uzhhorod in western Ukraine to Budapest, Hungary’s capital city, to assist with the evacuation of the students.
As a result, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Monday that four Union Ministers will be dispatched to Poland and Romania to oversee the evacuation. Hardeep Puri, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs as well as Petroleum and Natural Gas, Kiren Rijiju, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiradtiya Scindia, and Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation General V K Singh are among the Indian government’s Special Envoys who will leave soon, according to sources.