Insight Bureau: Thousands of Indian citizens in Ukraine, mostly medical students are looking for a way out, while their families in India appeal for their safe evacuation and return to India. The Indian government has committed to the task and most recently, it has sent four ministers to countries neighbouring Ukraine for assistance.
There is a panic and grief in India after an Indian student from Karnataka was killed in a missile strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Notably, the government decided Monday to send four Union Ministers to supervise the evacuation. They are expected to coordinate with Ukrainian authorities and those of neighbouring nations to ensure the return of Indian students. It also announced plans for more flights to bring back students not just from India but also from neighbouring and developing countries.
This was announced in a meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi. He said the “entire government machinery is working round-the-clock to ensure that all Indian nationals there are safe and secure”. He has also asked Indian Air Force to assist in evacuating nationals from war-torn Ukraine, sources said today.
Indian authorities are currently running the evacuation programme “Operation Ganga” in full swing to bring back Indian students from different parts of Ukraine. Indian Air Force is expected to deploy several C-17 aircrafts as part of Operation Ganga from today.
Indian authorities are trying real hard to evacuate Indians from Ukraine as they have released phone numbers and launched other modes of contact where stranded Indian students can reach out and coordinate with them.
Out of the nearly 20,000 Indian students, over 1400 have been evacuated so far. While nearly 9000 had heeded the travel advisories and exited the country before the invasion began, said Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
India’s first travel advisory urging citizens to leave Ukraine was issued on February 15th, nine days before Russia’s invasion into the Eastern European country.
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