Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Commenting on the evacuation process for Indian students stranded in war-torn Ukraine, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said the present exercise was ‘one of a kind’ because the ground situation is different from the previous repatriation efforts by the government.
He added that well-coordinated measures were taken to ensure safe return of the Indian citizens. They encountered ‘unique’ situations, which were handled efficiently because of quick communication. “There was a fundamental difference between the current situation and previous evacuations. The nature of the state’s involvement is different. Repatriation of Indians from Sri Lanka was negotiated,” he said.
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“During the Gulf War, large numbers of people were brought back because of military action at a particular place. Here (in Ukraine), in terms of logistics, it was a bit of a one of a kind situation. Some of them came on their own. Some were in groups. Every situation is different. Here, the ground situation was very different,” he added.
He added that a humanitarian approach was adopted to evacuate people from Ukraine. “Some students wanted to bring pets but airline policies do not permit it. I intervened, requested the secretary, aviation secretary and made calls to the owners of the airlines. All of them were very cooperative and the issue was resolved. If an Indian citizen is married to a Ukrainian, can we leave them?” he added.
Puri was part of the team of ministers sent to neighbouring countries of Ukraine under Operation Ganga. He returned from Hungary on Monday. Talking about successful repatriation of students from the Hungarian border, the minister said one night, 1,700 had arrived and they were accommodated with the help of the MEA and social organisations.
