The minister shared details of Operation Ganga with members of Rajya Sabha and said that of the 90 flights conducted for evacuation, 76 were civilian flights and 14 C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft deployed by the Indian Air Force for this special operation.
The evacuation of students from Ukraine was “extremely complex” as there was a risk of them getting caught in a crossfire, the government says.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar said he would make a statement in Rajya Sabha on the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday and said the evacuation mission included a government-wide approach.
It was possible to evacuate the students safely thanks to the personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of Russia and Ukraine, he said.
In his statement, Dr. Jaishankar said: “On several occasions, the Prime Minister has spoken with presidents of Russia and Ukraine and raised the issue of the safe evacuation of Indians, especially from Sumy and Kharkiv.”
To seek support for facilitating Indians’ entry into their country, Prime Minister Modi also spoke with the leaders of Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.
Referring to the challenges posed by the severe ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the minister told the Senate that about 22.50 Indian citizens have returned home safely.
Operation Ganga
The minister shared details of Operation Ganga with members of Rajya Sabha and said that of the 90 flights conducted for evacuation, 76 were civilian flights and 14 C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft deployed by the Indian Air Force for this special operation.
According to the minister, these special evacuation flights have taken off from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
In his statement, the minister assured the House of Representatives that the remains of Indian student Navin Shekarappa, who studied medicine at Kharkiv Medical University, will be returned to the country.
The Indian mission in Ukraine is seeking the repatriation of the remains of the student who lost his life in the war-torn country.
The medical expenses of another Indian Harjot Singh who suffered gunshot wounds while leaving Kiev were reimbursed by the Indian government. Arrangements were also made to take him from Kiev to the Polish border and he returned on the IAF flight, accompanied by a doctor who had also been arranged by the Indian mission in Poland.
In accordance with the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, India also helped to evacuate nationals of foreign countries – 147 citizens from 18 countries returned on several flights.
Opinions issued
The minister also informed the Senate that advice has been issued by the Indian mission in Ukraine. The registration campaign was soon launched as tensions between Ukraine and Russia mounted in January. And under the registration process, nearly 20,000 Indians had registered. Most students attended medical studies at different universities in that country.
More advice was issued in February, and to make things easier, the bubble’s then-imposed instructions were immediately lifted. This step has been taken in consultation with the Ukrainian side in an effort to increase direct flights from there. As of February 23, about 4,000 Indian citizens had returned on commercial flights.
Why didn’t the students come back sooner?
According to the minister, there was a reluctance to leave their educational institutions because they feared it would affect their studies. He also said there were some universities that actively discouraged students from leaving and were also reluctant to offer online classes.
Concerns about their future
About the concerns about the careers of the evacuated students, the minister assured the House that “the government will approach the matter with full responsibility”.
The number of remaining Indian citizens is only in double digits, he added.
This post India withdrew 22,500 students from Ukraine: minister was original published at “https://www.financialexpress.com/defence/india-brought-back-22500-students-from-ukraine-minister/2462241/”
