'Operation Ganga' — India's mega mission to help its people stranded in warn-torn Ukraine
Chandigarh, March 1: India’s ‘Operation Ganga’ — a massive rescue operation being carried out to evacuate all Indians stranded in Ukraine — has been going on in full swing. As of Tuesday, a total of nine flights have brought back several Indian citizens from the warn-ridden zone.
Following the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine, social medial handles, especially Twitter, got flooded with SOS videos from Indian students left stranded in Ukraine amid the current turmoil. These disturbing videos show how Indian students trying to flee Ukraine are being assaulted by forces at the borders.
Indian students are trying to reach out to their loved ones back home via social media handles. The videos are heart-wrenching and are bound to move anyone. Recently, a student stranded in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine posted a video on his Twitter handle. The student said he could hear the sound of bomb blasts outside and urged the Indian authorities to evacuate them at the earliest.
He claimed that "The situation is pretty much worse. “Everyone is here. Not just Indians, but people from countries like Israel, Lebanon and obviously Ukraine,” he added. He appealed to the masses to share it as much as possible.
In similar videos, many students said they were "beaten" at the station and not allowed on the trains. Most reports of Indians facing harassment came from the overcrowded Ukraine-Poland border. In one of the videos, a student is seen being kicked repeatedly by a guard in uniform. Visuals of Indian students in bunkers are also disturbing. Many are stuck in eastern Ukraine which is under heavy attack.
Amid the current turmoil and "probably" moved at the plight of those stranded in Ukraine, the Narendra Modi-led launched a massive evacuation drive 'Operation Ganga'.
About 'Operation Ganga'
The Central Government has vowed to repatriate every stranded Indian from Ukraine and bear the expense of the travel. Under the massive evacuation drive, Indians were first taken in batches from Ukraine to bordering countries (currently Hungary and Romania) via buses/commute arranged by the embassy. They were then airlifted to Delhi or Mumbai through chartered Air India flights.
Nine special flights operated so far
India operated its first evacuation flight under 'Operation Ganga' on Saturday and brought back 219 Indians from Romania’s capital Bucharest to Mumbai on Saturday evening. The second evacuation flight carrying 250 nationals landed in Delhi on Sunday. The third flight evacuated 240 Indians from Hungarian capital Budapest, whereas the fourth and fifth flight flew 198 and 249 more passengers from Bucharest to Delhi. A total of nine flights have been operated so far.
Appointment of 'Special Envoys'
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to send four Union Ministers to Poland and Romania to oversee the evacuation. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri, Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiradtiya Scindia, and and Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation General V K Singh are the ones who are "Special Envoys" of the Indian government.
Evacuees "all praise"
Some students who have been successfully evacuated from Ukraine have praised the government's efforts, saying Indian embassy officials provided them with food and water when they were finally able to make it to evacuation points.
However, some are still of the view that it needs to do more to to prevent "harassment" they are being subjected to at border checkpoints.
And late Union minister Sushma Swaraj had also once tweeted, "Even if you are stuck on Mars, Indian Embassy will help you."
Also read in Punjabi
ਆਮ ਜ਼ਿੰਦਗੀ ਵਿਚ ਸਮਾਂ ਗੁਜ਼ਾਰਨ ਨੂੰ ਇਸਤੇਮਾਲ ਹੋਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਸੋਸ਼ਲ ਮੀਡੀਆ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਲੋੜ ਪੈਣ 'ਤੇ ਜਾਗਰੂਕਤਾ ਦਾ ਹਥਿਆਰ ਬਣ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ ਆਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਇਹ ਅਸੀਂ ਆਏ ਦਿਨ ਵੇਖਦੇ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਾਂ ਪਰ ਕਿੰਝ ਇਸਦੀ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਕਰਕੇ ਸਾਸ਼ਕਾਂ ਤੱਕ ਨੂੰ ਪਬਾਂ ਭਾਰ ਨੱਚਣ ਨੂੰ ਮਜਬੂਰ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ ਇਸਦਾ ਅਸਰ ਰੂਸ-ਯੂਕਰੇਨ ਦੀ ਜੰਗ ਦਰਮਿਆਨ ਵੇਖਣ ਨੂੰ ਮਿਲ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। Read more
-PTC News
