By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: India rolled out its diplomatic and logistic outreach further to accelerate the evacuation of its stranded citizens in Ukraine, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chairing two high-level meeting to review the ongoing efforts under Operation Ganga’.
Nearly 8,000 Indian citizens have returned from Ukraine since the first advisory was issued by the Indian Embassy in Kyiv last month. Earlier in the day, four senior ministers left for neighbouring countries of Ukraine to oversee the evacuation. The decision to send the four ministers came a day after Modi asserted that ensuring the safety of Indian students and their evacuation is the government’s top priority.
In the Monday’s meeting chaired by the PM, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla were among those who attended the session.
Meanwhile, EAM S Jaishankar spokenwith his counterpart in Poland to ensure that the evacuation takes place without any hiccup. Six evacuation flights have returned to India with 1396 students, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, adding that the government is bearing the entire cost of these flights.
‘‘Situation on ground is complex and fluid. However, we will accelerate evacuation process so that the remaining 12,000 Indians are brought back safely to India,’’ Bagchi added. The Indian embassy in Warsaw has arranged 10 buses to transport Indians from the border regions. Arrangement was made for food and accommodation. India also plans to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
‘‘We have opened a new route through Moldova this morning. They will arrange evacuation through Romania. This will help Indians from Odessa and Southern Ukraine,’’ the MEA spokesperson said. As the weekend curfew was lifted in Kyiv and Kharkhov, Indian students were encouraged to take trains to reach the western border of Ukraine. The Indian Embassy in Ukraine has been requesting all its citizens to coordinate their journey details with them and not head to the borders directly.
Bagchi said flights are not a constraint. “We will add more flights as needed. We are continually augmenting the number of MEA teams in border crossing points. We are also augmenting a number of officials in the nearby countries,” he asserted.
Indians returning homeWhile 1,396 Indians were brought back home in six flights as part of the evacuation mission, the total number of Indians who have left Ukraine since India issued the first advisory earlier this month is around 8,000.
